Oak Brook police are crediting their network of license plate readers with helping to identify cars linked to a fatal shooting at Oakbrook Center.
As officials praise the technology and as the use of the license plate readers expands, lawmakers are pushing for new guardrails on how the technology is used.
Chief Brian Strockis said police immediately accessed images and license plate information using the readers, and that information gave them valuable leads.
“There has been considerable public discussion regarding the use of license plate reader technology. Today’s incident is an example of how properly deployed law enforcement technology can provide timely investigative information,” Strockis said during a news conference Wednesday.
It’s hard to miss the signs at the mall informing customers of the license plate readers. The cameras are placed at every mall entrance and exit.
In fact, within Oak Brook’s eight square miles, there are about 90 cameras from three different systems: Flock, Minuteman and Vigilant Solutions. Police are looking to get even more.
“As with any investigative tool, its effectiveness depends upon responsible use by trained law enforcement professionals,” Strockis said.
The use of the cameras remains controversial however, especially in light of cases of misuse in other suburbs.
“Part of why we know of this misuse by various law enforcement officers in those places is because they do have audit tools. I think the bigger concern is there are places that have no audit tools, so we don’t even know how it’s being misused,” said State Rep. Nicolle Grasse, whose district includes Arlington Heights.
Grasse has proposed a bill that would limit when police can access license plate reader data.
“These cameras are good things, especially for Amber Alerts, for our Silver Alerts,” Grasse said.
Her bill lays out appropriate uses of the technology, including missing person cases, stolen cars, hit and runs, toll collection, parking enforcement, when a car is registered to someone with an outstanding felony warrant, or when a car is related to or involved in a forcible felony.
Grasse was approached by the ACLU of Illinois after Mount Prospect police revealed last year that Texas law enforcement accessed their data without their knowledge. The ACLU first raised privacy concerns back in 2017, but the technology has rapidly evolved since then.
“The technology is so sophisticated now that you can not just see a license plate, but you can see a bumper sticker. You can see whether or not there’s somebody else who’s in the car. You can do searches with make and model or ‘I’m looking for somebody in a blue jacket driving a car that’s brown with a dent,'” said Khadine Bennett, the director of advocacy and intergovernmental affairs for the ACLU of Illinois.
Under the bill, any city that wants to bring these cameras in would also be required to invite public input at public meetings and report back how often the cameras led to arrests and convictions.
Grasse also wants to limit how long police can keep the data. The current bill language would cap the data retention at three days, but Grasse said she is open to amending that number based on her conversations with law enforcement and other stakeholders.
Oakbrook Center’s website says data is kept for 30 days unless otherwise required by law.
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