Mass surveillance is antithetical to the freedoms upon which our country was built. To be clear, this is not about speeding or red-light cameras, which are only triggered when that event occurs. Automatic license plate reader (ALPR) systems are one or more cameras that are always on, capturing and storing data on millions of vehicles.

• ALPRs have been used to surveil people for political views, religious views, race, sexual orientation and immigration status.

• ALPRs have been used to stalk women, children, and ex-partners, and to track people seeking reproductive healthcare, bearing arms and other constitutionally protected rights.

• ALPRs frequently relay false positives, misreads, and other errors that have contributed to high-risk traffic stops; innocent people held at gunpoint, wrongfully accused, incarcerated, mauled, and permanently disabled.

• The APD calls this technology a “force multiplier,” but they fail to recognize or take accountability for how it can be used as a force multiplier against innocent people they are sworn to protect.

The only way to guarantee this technology is not used against innocent residents of Arlington is to ban it.