Law enforcement agencies in Hancock County are now using a network of 13 automated license plate readers installed at six locations, according to Police Chief David Kerns.
The Motorola Solutions cameras, which began operating in early August, take photographs of passing vehicles and use software to identify license plates. The sites are in Bucksport, Ellsworth, Dedham, Trenton, Hancock and Sullivan, although officials have not disclosed their precise locations, according to the Ellsworth American.
Authorized officers can search the system using a full or partial plate number. Each search requires identification, a reason for the inquiry and a case number. Unless information becomes part of an intelligence or investigative record, the data is automatically deleted after 21 days, as required by Maine law.
The system also compares plates with the National Crime Information Center’s database of vehicles connected to cases such as stolen vehicles, AMBER alerts, homicide investigations and welfare checks.
Kerns cautioned that an alert is not proof of a match. The technology can misidentify letters and numbers or flag a plate from the wrong state, requiring officers to verify the information.
Kerns and Capt. Christopher Wharff currently oversee the system, but local police departments are expected to receive alerts from cameras within their communities once technical problems are resolved. The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office will also have access.
The cameras have prompted broader concerns in Maine about government surveillance and how long license plate information is retained. In Brewer, police recently discontinued use of their cameras after learning their vendor had kept data longer than state law permits.
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