VOA慢速英语:License Plate Readers Raise Privacy Concerns

Law enforcement agencies across the United States are using cameras to take pictures of automobile license plates. The idea is to build a computerised collection of information detailing the daily travel of millions of Americans.
美国各地的执法机构都在使用相机拍摄汽车车牌，他们的想法是建立一个电脑化的信息收集，详细记录数百万计美国人的日常出行。

Arlington County Police Detective Mohammed Tabibi is with the Automobile Theft Department. He uses a license plate readers, also known as a LPR to look for stolen vehicles.
阿灵顿县警局的警探Mohammed Tabibi就职于汽车防盗部门。他使用一台车牌阅读器搜寻被盗车辆。

"It has paid dividends. We have caught some people involved in some serious crimes because of the LPR," said Tabibi.
“车牌识别器已经做出了贡献，有了它的帮助，我们已经抓获一些参与严重犯罪的人。”

The use of LPRs is growing across the United States. Some are secured to poles along roadsides, others are placed in law-enforcement vehicle. Privacy groups are concerned about the growing use of these devices. They say the information collected is stored on computers and shared with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
车牌阅读器的应用在美国各地不断增加。它们有些固定在路旁的电线杆，有些安装在执法车辆上。隐私团体对这些设备使用越来越担心。他们说，车牌阅读器收集到的信息储存在电脑上，并和联邦、州以及其它当地的执法机构共享。

Jay Stanley is with the American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU).
Jay Stanley就职于美国公民自由联盟。

"What they are also doing is storing everybody's time, place, and location. And many police departments are holding that information indefinitely. You know in our society, the government doesn't follow you and invade your privacy and track you unless it has a specific reason that you are involved in wrongdoing," said Stanley.
“他们储存了美国人的时间、地点和位置。并且许多警察部门无限期保存这类信息。你知道在我们的社会，政府不会监视你，不会侵犯你的隐私，不会跟踪你，除非是因为你有不法行为。”

Until recently, Kevin Rearden served as Captain of the Arlington county Police, he also headed the county's Homeland Security Department before he retired. Mr Rearden said, county policy calls for the LPR information to be kept for six months.
Kevin Rearden担任阿灵顿县警局警监直到最近，他在退休前还负责过该县的国土安全部。Rearden先生称，县级政策要求车牌阅读器的信息储存6个月。

"We originally had a two-month period, and the detectives requested the chief extend it to six months because they found in so many investigations, keeping it for two months wasn't long enough," said Rearden.
“我们最初保存该信息两个月，警探向领导要求将其延长至6个月，因为他们在很多调查中发现，保存两个月时间不够长。”

But he said, other law enforcement agencies that use the county's information may store it for unlimited periods of time.
但他说，其它使用该县信息的执法机构可能会无限期的储存。

Supporters of privacy rights say they have no problem with police departments taking pictures of license plates to investigate crimes. But Jay Stanley says, they're against storing the information for long periods of time.
隐私权支持者称，他们觉得警察部门拍摄车牌查案并没有问题。但Jay Stanley说，他们反对长时间储存这些信息。

"...Once you are past a certain periods of time, it is very unlikely it is going to be useful. Meanwhile we are creating this giant infrastructure for tracking everybody all the time," said Stanley.
“这些信息一旦过去一段时间就不太可能还有用。而与此同时，我们把这一庞大的基础设施用于时刻跟踪人民。”

Retired Arlington country Captain Rearden disagrees.
阿灵顿县退休警监Rearden并不同意。

"They keep bringing up the word tracking. And if I went out and ran your tag in our server, I would not be able to track you. I would be lucky if I could put [you in] a few places in Arlington in a particular time. By no stretch of the imagination would I be able to track you," said Rearden.
“他们一直强调跟踪这个词。如果我去我们的服务器上搜索你，我并没有办法跟踪你。如果我能在特定时间，在阿灵顿县的一些地方发现你的踪迹，那是我运气好。我怎么也想不通我怎么能跟踪你。”

The ACLU says Americans need to know how federal officials are using the information collected from LPR cameras, the group has brought federal charges against the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.
美国公民自由联盟称，美国人需要知道联邦官员如何使用车牌阅读器摄像头收集信息。该组织已经对司法部和国土安全部发起联邦指控。