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ANPR in Australia
This page considers uptake of automatic number plate recognition
(ANPR) systems in Australia and New Zealand.
It covers -
introduction
Given the comments in preceding pages of this note about
"intelligence-led policing", perceived cost
effectiveness and community passivity it is unsurprising
that a range of Australian government agencies are moving
towards adoption of large-scale ANPR systems.
Matt Cahill of CrimTrac,
the federal government agency responsible for a range
of national criminal intelligence databases, commented
that
There
is huge pressure on police to get their front-line forces
on the road as much as they can, not in the office,
and enabling them to access information while on the
road so they know everything they possibly can about
the situation when they pull someone over
A
colleague more succinctly claimed that "It's a no-brainer
for a safer Australia".
The expectation is that adoption of ANPR by the federal,
state and territory governments will include establishment
of systems by different agencies and exchange of information
between agencies.
Proponents have indicated that ANPR will be used as a
tool in identifying whether -
- a
vehicle has been stolen
- the
driver is uninsured
- there
is a warrant for the arrest of the driver
Presumably
it will be used for other purposes, including assistance
to national security agencies in dealing with perceived
terrorist threats.
frameworks
From the perspective of Australian law the deployment
of ANPR systems by government and the private sector is
an incremental rather than revolutionary process, given
-
- use
of 'speed cameras' by all governments
- adoption
of numberplate imaging systems by the private sector,
eg use by petrol stations for blacklisting
'drive offs'
- recognition
of such use in statute and common law
Deployment of official ANPR systems occurs within a framework
provided by existing road management law, which covers
siting of traditional speed cameras (fixed and portable)
and other devices such as radar guns, the evidential status
of records produced using that equipment, and vehicle
registration.
Salient legislation includes -
- Road
Transport (Safety & Traffic Management) Act 1999
(ACT) | here
- Road
Traffic (Safety & Management) Act (NSW) | here
- Road
Transport (Vehicle Registration) Act 1997 | here
- Traffic
Act (NT) | here
- Transport
Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld)
| here
- Road
Traffic Act 1961 (SA) | here
- Traffic
Act 1925 (Tas) | here
- Road
Management Act 2004 (Vic) | here
- Road
Safety Act 1986 (Vic) | here
- Road
Traffic Act 1974 (WA) | here
Vehicle
registration is discussed here.
Use of the cameras in the private and public sectors is
framed, arguably inadequately, by state/territory and
federal privacy legislation and by common law regarding
privacy.
uptake
Ongoing adoption of networked ANPR by the states, territories
and federal government reflects
- widespread
use of traditional speed and red light cameras
- emulation
of UK, Canadian and US peers regarding security and
road management.
There
appears to have been less enthusiasm within the private
sector, eg for car park management, arguably because traditional
disposable ticket and proximity card solutions are perceived
as more cost effective. Potential concerns regarding privacy,
for example criticisms that petrol stations are capturing
images of passing vehicles rather than customers, do not
appear to have influenced commercial uptake of the technology.
Statistics on the number of private sector ANPR systems
and their use (eg standalone or networked across multiple
locations) are unavailable.
The New Zealand government's 2006-7 Budge included provision
for a pilot ANPR system, with rollout likely to occur
on a national basis across the two main islands with management
from a central data centre. In 2006 the Australian federal
government announced that CrimTrac would receive $2.223
million for an ANPR Scoping Study that would
identify a strategic approach to integrate ANPR technology
across Australia, identifying the necessary infrastructure
and associated cost benefits analysis. A national approach
will provide a significant benefit for the Australian
community. Police forces and other law enforcement agencies
will be able to identify and track potential vehicles
of interest within and across State and Territory borders.
The
study appears to be ongoing as of April 2007 and there
has been no major public report on findings by CrimTrac
and its partners.
In both nations the question is when, not if, ANPR will
be adopted on a large scale. Timing appears to be dependent
on budgets (in turn affected by contingencies such as
international sporting events of diplomatic meetings that
heighten sensitivities about security), pragmatism in
waiting for overseas peers to debug major systems and
traditional interagency squabbles about responsibility.
responses
As yet, there has been little community criticism of official
and private sector ANPR schemes, with sparse coverage
in the mass media and only passing discussion in reports
by government privacy watchdogs and law reform agencies
or in writing by commercial lawyers and academics. ANPR
has not attracted significant attention from advocacy
groups such as Liberty Victoria, Electronic Frontiers
Australia and the Australian Privacy Foundation.
The apparent absence of community anxiety, in contrast
to the vehement criticism by a small but vocal group of
RFID opponents, arguably reflects -
- habituation
to speed cameras, unloved but now regarded as part of
the regulatory scenery and only threatening an offender's
wallet
- unfamiliarity
with how networked ANPR data might be used, a reflection
of limited coverage in the mass media and the absence
of egregious abuses that catalyse public opinion
- acceptance
of upbeat statements by goverments, such as the announcement
by the Victorian Minister for Police & Emergency
Services of "a new hi-tech device that can detect
stolen cars in the blink of an eye".
Governments appear to have sought to preempt criticism
by marketing networked ANPR systems with an emphasis on
containment of the technology. The Victorian Police &
Emergency Services media release for example was headed
"Government to keep an Eye on Number Plate Trial".
next page (studies of ANPR)
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