Are Your Movements Being Tracked by the DEA?

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Are Your Movements Being Tracked by the DEA?



A national database of real-time vehicle movements may include your vehicle whereabouts according to information obtained from DEA documents by the ACLU using the Freedom of Information Act.

By tying together DEA license plate readers with those of other local agencies, the Justice Department is compiling a database of real-time information about the comings and goings of hundreds of millions of vehicles.

The Original Mission

Originally designed to capture information and confiscate guns and cash from drug dealers, the program has apparently grown in scope to include multiple agencies across the entire country. As the size of the coverage area has increased, so has the scope of the program. According to the Wall Street Journal, the database has also been used to aid in criminal investigations.

The license plate trackers are placed along highways or in parked cars and record the plate of every license plate that passes by. This information is sent to a national database. According to records retrieved by the ACLU, other local and federal law enforcement agencies are also encouraged to send their data to this database. Agencies with approval are also able to retrieve information from the database. There doesn't appear to be any conditions on what the information retrieved may be used for.

Powerful Information About Your Private Life

Defenders of the program state that the information is obtained only while motorists are out on public roads where they should have no expectation of privacy. However, detailed records of a vehicle's traveling history can easily be taken advantage of by people in authority or with access to such records. Data mining is also performed to determine "travel patterns." This data can reveal powerful personal information such as political affiliations, interests, and medical data.

Important Questions

The stated primary goal of the program is "asset forfeiture." Asset forfeiture is a controversial program where law enforcement agencies seize money, cars and other property from suspects. The agencies keep the assets for themselves.

While much information was gleamed from the documents the ACLU was able to review, the documents were either years old or undated. The documents were also heavily redacted.

Many questions about this invasive program remain: How long is that data retained? Who may access the data? How much data is being collected? Where is the data being collected and how is that area determined? What are the limits for the use of the data? What data is being mined and how is that data being used?

Conclusion

The compilation of information in this database raises important questions about privacy and is an unsettling and unconstitutional expansion of government surveillance over a large proportion of innocent United States citizens.

If you or a loved has been accused of a crime in Alaska, contact the Law Office of Ben Crittenden at 907-771-9002 for a free consultation. You can also visit our website for more information: http://crittendenlawoffice.com/

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