The 11th Judicial Circuit Court is allowing the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) to proceed with a lawsuit against the City of Coral Gables and other state law enforcement departments, on behalf of Coral Gables resident Raul Mas Canosa. The subject of the lawsuit are Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) and the storing of the captured data. The case now moves forward to the discovery phase.
Mas Canosa takes issue with the collection and storage of sensitive license plate information without reasonable limits on the scope of data collected of its use.
Last month the NCLA put a video together explaining Mas Canosa’s and their organization’s position.
“The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution forbids police from consistently monitoring a vehicle’s movements over time without first obtaining a warrant based on probable cause. Just as significantly, Article I, Section 23 of the Florida State Constitution protects the ‘right of privacy’ of innocent citizens and limits the State’s collection and use of private information without first making a showing of compelling government interest.” said NCLA in a recent press release.
Since 2015, the City of Coral Gables has invested well over $1.3 million in the creation of a geo-fence which includes the installation of Closed-Circuit TV and ALPR equipment throughout the perimeter of the city and major intersections. The cameras give the Coral Gables Police Department a 24/7 data feed to deter and assist in resolving crimes. NCLA says the city operates more than 30 APLR devices.
In a statement, Coral Gables City Attorney said, “The City, along with the co-defendants, is committed to defending the constitutionality of the program, which has proven to be an effective law enforcement tool.”
A man turned his cell phone off and with another phone he pulled the battery out. He drove around Washington DC. Then when he returned home he turned his phone on in one phone and replaced the battery in the other phone. Google knew where the man drove around DC.
It always amazes me how easily folks are willing to waive their right to be free of government intrusion into their lives because “they are not criminals and have nothing to hide.” Are they OK, for safety reasons, letting police conduct random searches of their homes under the same basis? Or their vehicles? Why not, if they have nothing to hide? Look, at the end of the day, you can waive your rights under the US & Florida Constitutions, but not my right. Interestingly enough, why don’t those folks, who don’t care about their right to privacy, provide their full names when they comment here?
There is no law forbidding video and still pics on public streets. If a criminal hacker wants to steal police video, it would be cheaper for them to just make their own, than to steal them. Monitor the streets for safety. It is a sign of an advancing civilization, not “communism-asation”. The only good thing about this totally frivolous and publicity-seeking lawsuit is a demonstration this is the most free country in the world indeed, the one which guarantees a citizen the right to sue for such an odd reason. The bad thing is a waste of taxpayers’ money. Imo, there should be day cameras as well as infrared night cameras with a center for continuous live monitoring by well-vetted employees who would have a priority line to the law enforcement. This is a good thing in a current context. Do a referendum and the majority of people would support such a measure. It is not “big gov” oppressing the population, but a neighborhood elected forces protecting the neighborhood.
I personally like and feel significantly safer as a result of the cameras. They assist in keeping us secure in our neighborhoods. It’s aides the police in their efforts to do the same. All the more important to me!…
I have nothing to fear from the monitoring of my tag/vehicle. It protects us all. Who’s not for that given the time we live in!…
If you remember in the past year, the cameras on the expressway caught a young man who stole a lady’s Mercedes at gunpoint. Cameras are everywhere in our country and elsewhere. Thank goodness they are in the Gables. I pray they stay!…
let’s talk about our ‘hard earned tax dollars’……..
we hire top heavy employees with fat salaries and benefits
we spend millions on ugly public art
sue facebook, plastic bags, FPL in court and lose costing hundreds of thousands maybe $1M+
work on projects without resident consent or input
our garbage doesn’t get picked up week after week
our commissioners give our house away to the developers to build concrete canyons and destroy historic properties
no trimming of our tree canopy for years
our taxes keep going up and no new lighting or road repairs are being done.
yes cameras like these are good but the data collected of your movements over years can be dangerous in the wrong hands of any law enforcement or hackers. sometimes good intentions have serious consequences especially with technology!!!
I understand Mas Canosa…& has nothing to do w/if you don’t do something bad, it shouldn’t matter. All the contrary – it’s about liberties in a free society. Only people that have indeed lived or know of relatives that are run by govt’s. know the consequences are not good & eventually robbed of everything-including, your soul. The less govt. interfering in our lives the better. They rob you of your liberties little by little & before you realize it, govt gets control of YOU in everything you do. I don’t want FL to become a communist state, or the entire U.S. for that matter. Come on, who wants to live in a Cuba, Venezuela or China? If we keep up this way, we’re all eventually going to become like them.
A frivolous lawsuit and a waste of taxpayers’ money. I have nothing to hide. I have lived in Gables for almost 20 years and I have a lot of respect for our men and women in uniform. Let us provide the law enforcement of the City of Coral Gables with all the tools they need to protect the residents of the city.
How about giving the money that you are spending in this lawsuit to good use and donating it to charity? There are so many worthy causes in this world that can surely use the funding to help those in need.
As far as I am concerned, the police now have probable cause to investigate Mas Canosa.
Anything to deter great police work and keep our community safe. What do you have to hide and why are you spending harding working people’s tax money. We need that money for improvements to our roads and street lighting in our neighborhood.
Mr. Más Canosa shame on you! I have also lived in Coral Gables for over 25 years and since I don’t have anything to hide I see no reason why those cámaras will bother me in any way. On the contrary I feel safer.
It’s a shame that someone with such respected last names in the Cuban exile community is spending the Gables taxpayers money in such a frivolous lawsuit.
Protecting the criminals in your old age Mr Mas Canosa?
Frivolous expensive lawsuit. Lets put our safety and well-being first before that of criminals/thugs. If plaintiff loses, does he/they pay court and overhead/legal costs to defend our rights to quiet enjoyment of our home/property?
The data is secure?
Well the saying in silicon valley is “if it exists somebody will find it”
You can’t create and store knowledge without others finding out.
It’s a basic principle behind hacking. Good or bad…
If I have committed no crime, I would not have any issues with the police department collecting my vehicle tag information. On the other hands, criminals will definitely oppose this.