Author Topic: Long story short, my NCIC was pinged by license plate cameras by gun ranges  (Read 2722 times)

Tyler Durden

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Hi everybody,

I know I have not been around for a while.

But I thought it was really important to get the word out about this.

To make a long story short, I am involved in some other legal thing.  It is NOT related at all to firearms.  But during the discovery process, my lawyer received a packet of papers.  Amongst these papers were several sheets showing the queries to my NCIC file in 2022.

That is

National

Crime

Information

Center

Which should not be confused with the NICS system for when you buy a gun at an FFL.

There were a total of 4 queries to my NCIC file last year.  One of those was a legit police interaction.  One query is kinda wishy washy as to legit-ness.

But the last 2….

Well, all 4 are date and time stamped and have a column for the “department” making the query.

Yeah, those last two….I was able to determine that they came from Automated License Plate Reader cameras (ALPR’s).

No big deal….right?

WRONG!

These two cameras caught me driving to/from two different gun ranges on two different dates. 

This new revelation bothered me so much that I went back to this members only range last Friday April 14th.  I tried looking for cameras  mounted on the telephone poles.  No luck there.  But on the way back to the gun club, I spotted this weird cart in somebody’s driveway:

I will try to attach it here.

I know I don’t have to preach to you all the Big Brother implications of the .gov tracking lawful gun owners legally and responsibly exercising their Second Amendment rights.

(i.e. how many ALPR’s are positioned outside of abortion clinics?  Or Christian churches? Or mosques?)

I am hoping to be back at a later time with hopefully a streamlined way for you to see your own NCIC file and its queries.  But in the meantime, if you frequent a public range or a private members only range keep your eyes peeled for ALPR’s.











Big Frank

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Hi, Tyler. Long time no see. I thought maybe you suffered a major loss in competition and died of embarrassment. ;D
Hmm. Mysterious cart with solar panel, battery, unknown electronics, and wheels to make it portable/easily aim-able. ???

Quoted below is from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

https://www.eff.org/pages/automated-license-plate-readers-alpr

Also, if you aren't using their Privacy Badger and HTTPS Everywhere browser add-ons, why not? Major browsers finally offer native support now for an HTTPS only mode, so you don't need the HTTPS Everywhere browser add-on IF you turn it on, but Privacy Badger or something like it is a must for all web browsers, unless you want advertisers and trackers secretly tracking where you go and what pages you look at on the web.

https://www.eff.org/pages/tools


Threats Posed by ALPR

ALPR is a powerful surveillance technology that can be used to invade the privacy of individuals as well as to violate the rights of entire communities.

Law enforcement agencies have abused this technology. Police officers in New York drove down a street and electronically recorded the license plate numbers of everyone parked near a mosque. Police in Birmingham targeted a Muslim community while misleading the public about the project. ALPR data EFF obtained from the Oakland Police Department showed that police disproportionately deploy ALPR-mounted vehicles in low-income communities and communities of color.

Moreover, many individual officers have abused law enforcement databases, including license plate information and records held by motor vehicle departments. In 1998, a Washington, D.C. police officer “pleaded guilty to extortion after looking up the plates of vehicles near a gay bar and blackmailing the vehicle owners.” Police officers have also used databases to search romantic interests in Florida. A former female police officer in Minnesota discovered that her driver’s license record was accessed 425 times by 18 different agencies across the state.

In addition to deliberate misuse, ALPRs sometimes misread plates, leading to dire consequences. In 2009, San Francisco police pulled over Denise Green, an African-American city worker, handcuffed her at gunpoint, forced her to her knees, and searched both her and her vehicle—all because her car was misidentified as stolen due to a license plate reader error. Her experience led the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to rule that technology alone can’t be the basis of such a stop, but that judgment does not apply everywhere, leaving people vulnerable to similar law enforcement errors.

Aggregate data stored for lengthy periods of time (or indefinitely) becomes more invasive and revealing, and it is susceptible to both misuse and data breach. Sensible retention limits, specific policies about who inside an agency is allowed to access data, and audit and control processes could help minimize these issues. One of the better privacy protections would be for police to retain no information at all when a passing vehicle does not match a hot list.


Speaking of data breaches, my personal information was up for sale again on the dark web, and I've gotten dozens of phishing emails at my Comcast address. It used to be a "clean" address, compared to my Outlook address which gets tons of spam. But this has gone beyond the typical spam to phishing for sensitive information, or trying to get me to click on something to start installing malware such as ransomware. I planned on starting a post about it and some of the things you can do to minimize your risk, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
""It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even his personal services to the defence of it, and consequently that the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls, provided with uniform Arms, and so far accustomed to the use of them, that the Total strength of the Country might be called forth at a Short Notice on any very interesting Emergency." - George Washington. Letter to Alexander Hamilton, Friday, May 02, 1783

THE RIGHT TO BUY WEAPONS IS THE RIGHT TO BE FREE - A. E. van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher

Big Frank

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"They who can give up liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djj2PrA_91k
""It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even his personal services to the defence of it, and consequently that the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls, provided with uniform Arms, and so far accustomed to the use of them, that the Total strength of the Country might be called forth at a Short Notice on any very interesting Emergency." - George Washington. Letter to Alexander Hamilton, Friday, May 02, 1783

THE RIGHT TO BUY WEAPONS IS THE RIGHT TO BE FREE - A. E. van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher

alfsauve

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Even GA DOT is in on it by way of their PeachPass which lets you use the express and toll lanes.  At first they installed readers outside the toll lanes to get a sense of how many possible users weren't opting to pay.  (Toll lanes around ATL have "market based" pricing that changes depending on demand.)  Then they started installing readers all around as a tool for monitoring traffic patterns.  All sounds very useful and benign util they admitted that when court ordered they've given up travel locations of individuals.
Will work for ammo
USAF MAC 437th MAW 1968-1972

Big Frank

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See above picture. Orwell was prophetic. Even attorneys FOR the surveillance have admitted its Orwellian resemblance.
""It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even his personal services to the defence of it, and consequently that the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls, provided with uniform Arms, and so far accustomed to the use of them, that the Total strength of the Country might be called forth at a Short Notice on any very interesting Emergency." - George Washington. Letter to Alexander Hamilton, Friday, May 02, 1783

THE RIGHT TO BUY WEAPONS IS THE RIGHT TO BE FREE - A. E. van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher

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Big Frank

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I added to the top and sides of the picture to make it 1920x1080 pixels, perfect for a 16:9 desktop background picture.
""It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even his personal services to the defence of it, and consequently that the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls, provided with uniform Arms, and so far accustomed to the use of them, that the Total strength of the Country might be called forth at a Short Notice on any very interesting Emergency." - George Washington. Letter to Alexander Hamilton, Friday, May 02, 1783

THE RIGHT TO BUY WEAPONS IS THE RIGHT TO BE FREE - A. E. van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher

PegLeg45

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Good to see you back, Tyler.

I do look forward to more info.......the SOB's have cameras everywhere. Folks would be surprised at the places you find them if you take the time to pause and scrutinize surroundings.
Heck, they have car-mounted cameras that can scan and verify license plated on the go....so if they can do that, I guarantee they can monitor way more than that and log data.

Interesting times we live in.
"I expect perdition, I always have. I keep this building at my back, and several guns handy, in case perdition arrives in a form that's susceptible to bullets. I expect it will come in the disease form, though. I'm susceptible to diseases, and you can't shoot a damned disease." ~ Judge Roy Bean, Streets of Laredo

For the Patriots of this country, the Constitution is second only to the Bible for most. For those who love this country, but do not share my personal beliefs, it is their Bible. To them nothing comes before the Constitution of these United States of America. For this we are all labeled potential terrorists. ~ Dean Garrison

"When it comes to the enemy, just because they ain't pullin' a trigger, doesn't mean they ain't totin' ammo for those that are."~PegLeg

Jim Kennedy-ar154me

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Good to see you back, Tyler.

Interesting times we live in.

Yep. Just like the Chinese curse!
The time for action is upon us and the enemy is at our gates. Let us not allow them one more inch of advancement but instead throw them through the gates of Hell.

Tyler Durden

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Politics makes for strange bedfellows.

I contacted or attempted to contact some folks who might be interested in my story.

The only reply I got back was from Senator Josh Hawley. 

Yes, I do realize he is from Missouri.  But Missouri is very pro-2A.

It was just a form letter type reply.

I tried contacting the editorial staff at Ballistic magazine and Iain Harrison of Recoil magazine.

So about the bedfellows….

I contacted the Illinois chapter of the ACLU.

As soon as they see anything about guns, they will hit the delete button.

But I did try to leverage my argument this way:

The same government that ordered these ALPR’s to be placed outside of gun ranges can just easily order them to be placed in other locations.

Like abortion clinics.

Mosques.

LGBTQ+ rallies





I also emailed the NRA-ILA.

Wouldn’t it be funny if the ACLU got back in touch with me sooner than all the pro-2A people?

Big Frank

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The ACLU already has a brochure for people to read about what a threat these automated license plate readers are... to everyone else but gun owners. They should change their name to Janus. They're just as two-faced as the Roman god. Like the politicians that cause most of our problems.
""It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even his personal services to the defence of it, and consequently that the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls, provided with uniform Arms, and so far accustomed to the use of them, that the Total strength of the Country might be called forth at a Short Notice on any very interesting Emergency." - George Washington. Letter to Alexander Hamilton, Friday, May 02, 1783

THE RIGHT TO BUY WEAPONS IS THE RIGHT TO BE FREE - A. E. van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher

 

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