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Oakland Changes License Plate Reader Policy After Filling 80GB Hard Drive
An anonymous reader writes: License plate scanners are a contentious subject, generating lots of debate over what information the government should have, how long they should have it, and what they should do with it. However, it seems policy changes are driven more by practical matters than privacy concerns. Earlier this year, Ars Technica reported that the Oakland Police Department retained millions of records going back to 2010. Now, the department has implemented a six-month retention window, with older data being thrown out. Why the change? They filled up the 80GB hard drive on the Windows XP desktop that hosted the data, and it kept crashing.
Why not just buy a cheap drive with an order of magnitude more storage space? Sgt. Dave Burke said, "We don't just buy stuff from Amazon as you suggested. You have to go to a source, i.e., HP or any reputable source where the city has a contract. And there's a purchase order that has to be submitted, and there has to be money in the budget. Whatever we put on the system, has to be certified. You don't just put anything. I think in the beginning of the program, a desktop was appropriate, but now you start increasing the volume of the camera and vehicles, you have to change, otherwise you're going to drown in the amount of data that's being stored."
Why not just buy a cheap drive with an order of magnitude more storage space? Sgt. Dave Burke said, "We don't just buy stuff from Amazon as you suggested. You have to go to a source, i.e., HP or any reputable source where the city has a contract. And there's a purchase order that has to be submitted, and there has to be money in the budget. Whatever we put on the system, has to be certified. You don't just put anything. I think in the beginning of the program, a desktop was appropriate, but now you start increasing the volume of the camera and vehicles, you have to change, otherwise you're going to drown in the amount of data that's being stored."
Yeah but the amount of occurrences where it does good is swamped by those where it does awful things to everyone.
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
but but but how can CIOs and Directors get free stuff if they don't allow private companies to power fist a publically funded organization?
In the past these were discounts. Now they're licenses to steal.
This is exactly how small gov operations work. Spend lots of money on a project. Ignore IT recommendations, or, specifically tell IT to cut costs wherever they can. IT comes back with "You could get away with doing this, but, make sure you do this". They omit to do the last part because it of course has a cost attached.
Several months later, at best, or, only a few weeks in, inevitably, not doing the 2nd this, catches up to them. After spending at least 5-figures on a project, it's scrapped, because of a 3-figure cost item. IT head rolls. Life goes on like nothing happened. New shiny project comes along...
It sounds to me like this guy knows the game. If it's not "certified" (by whom?) then it can't be used. Likely it's the vendor making that statement, making them a sole-source and padding the numbers significantly, and being unaware of the Moss Act...
Now you are headed somewhere - and not just for Civil Liberty reasons.
Years ago I worked for a clinic. They were going through reams of paper and toner cartridges. Their vendor said that the printer is no longer supported by the manufacture and that drums and cartridges are no longer available. I told them that Amazon sells them for about 30% less. Nope. They had an account and buying from Amazonmp means using personal CCs and getting reimbursed and paper work.
I looked at the workflow and all of those printouts were never used. It was a case of "that's the way it has always been done" and a stubborn old fart.
Changed workflow to stop unnecessary printing and lowered costs.
So, why are they collecting all that data in the first place? Is it really necessary for them to do their jobs and protect the public?
Well, I agree government is dangerous -- so is anything that is powerful. Max Weber defined the state as the organization that has a monopoly on violence.
But the blame isn't with the liberals, or the conservative libertarians, neither of whom want this kind of data collection. It's with the conservative authoritarians who want to expand the power of the police.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Actually, COTS mean Commercial Off The Shelf. It was originally a military acronym dealing with things that didn't need a MilSpec....
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
A laissez-fair economy sucks as well. It makes the bullies and cutthroats rise to the top without any negative repercussions.