I received the below message from AAA today, and sent the suggested message
using their form. It was simple and took less than two minutes.
-- Marc
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Friends,
Help us protect your privacy! Right now, there is no law in Virginia mandating
that license plate reader data be purged.
We dont think police should indefinitely retain information about where and
when you drive in Virginia and neither does the former Attorney General. If
you agree, AAA is asking you to take action now.
AAA has tremendous respect for police and their work to protect public safety
and believes that law enforcement should fully utilize license plate readers to
determine if vehicles are related to criminal activity. We also believe,
however, that police should be required to delete data that is not related to
criminal activity, so as not to violate the privacy of law-abiding citizens.
Every day, police in Virginia and elsewhere use license-plate-readers (LPRs)
mounted on their vehicles to capture license plate data from the vehicles that
pass them. See:
http://wapo.st/1aPC6Pw
These readers instantly alert the police when a stolen plate or vehicle passes,
or when a vehicle connected to a crime or criminal passes, and serve as
important tools in reducing auto thefts and removing wanted criminals from our
streets.
Some Virginia police departments have chosen to retain that data for extended
periods-in some cases, years. AAA, therefore, supports HB1673 (Delegate
Richard L. Anderson - R/Prince William County) and SB965 (Senator J. Chapman
Peterson - D/Fairfax) which, if passed, would mandate the purging of data
collected by LPRs within a specific time frame, thus protecting motorists
privacy, while allowing police to use it to curtail auto thefts and crime. We
are asking you to support the bill.
You can view the status of HB1673 here:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=151&typ=bil&val=hb1673
You can view the status of SB965 here:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=151&typ=bil&val=sb965
AAA believes that the retention period should be limited to the time necessary
to compare it with local and national crime data banks-a matter of hours or
days, not months or years. AAA believes that the indefinite retention of
information tracking the movement and location of innocent motorists around the
Commonwealth violates their right to privacy.
ACTION TO TAKE: Send your legislators an email requesting that they protect
your privacy by voting for HB1673 AND SB965. Just click this link:
http://cqrcengage.com/autoclubpartners/app/write-a-letter?3&engagementId=77166
Thank you for adding your voice to this important issue. Lawmakers listen to
their constituents. Please feel free to forward this email to your family and
friends who live in Virginia and ask them to take action as well.
With appreciative regards,
Catherine L. Rossi
Vice President, Public & Government Affairs
AAA Mid-Atlantic
This email was sent by: AAA Mid-Atlantic, 1 River Place Wilmington, DE, 19801,
USA
You can also view a media release issued on this subject by AAA/MA at:
https://apps.midatlantic.aaa.com/siteapps/files/apps/safety/cms_release_content.asp?id=10033
We are proud to serve you with local AAA stores located throughout PA, NJ, VA,
DE, MD and the District of Columbia.
http://midatlantic.aaa.com/About/BranchLocator
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NOTE: If you wish to discuss this item, it is also posted to the LPVA Facebook
page:
https://www.facebook.com/LPVirginia/posts/1010009432360490
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