OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — More and more license plate cameras have been going up around the country and in the Omaha metro. The City of Bellevue installed them in two intersections just this month and Douglas County recently put up 15 in unincorporated areas of the county.
Tuesday, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office went to the Omaha City Council asking to add 10 more in areas adjacent to city limits.
Captain William Niemack said they are working.
“For us, it’s been crucial for two investigations. One of which uncovered an auto theft ring undergoing. Both of which of those cases obtained firearms, illegal firearms off the street,” said Niemack.
He cited it as a tool for the sheriff’s office and said neither the camera company, Flock, the City of Omaha nor anybody else would have access to view the data the cameras collect.
He said some crimes, such as property crimes, are on the rise and the new technology helps them get convictions in court.
But there were privacy concerns.
“The cameras make no distinction in looking for a specific car that might be wanted or a person that might be wanted. They’re automatically collecting information for anybody going through that intersection,” said Spike Eicholt, with the ACLU of Nebraska.
Despite promises about the security of the data, the ACLU fears where the data is going as did seemingly Councilmember Aimee Melton who said she always wants to help law enforcement but said this would “tick away” at citizen liberties.
“In this case, I think we may be going a step too far,” said Melton
The data would be deleted completely after 30 days with some fearing that the time period may be enough to use it for civil and family law.
The council will vote on whether to allow Douglas County to put these in the City of Omaha.
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