Tech Innovations for Law Enforcement Will Protect Children | Opinion

Even one child ripped from their family is too many, but tragically tens of thousands of American children go missing each year. According to the Child Crime Prevention and Safety Center, every 40 seconds, a child goes missing or is abducted in the United States. It’s why AMBER alerts play a vital part in locating and rescuing these young victims.

Today, we often hear about new dangers that lurk online, but physical threats to our children are still very present. In the face of heartbreaking tragedies like kidnappings, it’s critical that we harness every tool available, including advancements in technology, to protect our children and bring them safely home.

Innovative technologies are helping local police rescue kidnapped children more quickly. By harnessing technological advancements, law enforcement can use information like cell phone data, air tag tracking, and license plate details to quickly identify suspects and help locate children.

License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology specifically has helped law enforcement make massive strides when it comes to combatting crime and helping to maintain public safety and peace of mind. The 48 hours following a child going missing are the most crucial. LPR cameras take still images of cars and license plates. This is often the first step for law enforcement to help them identify the kidnapper and develop a timeline of events and even determine the suspect’s travel pattern. If the kidnapper passes another LPR camera the police can piece together which direction the suspect traveled or even their prospective destination.

There are thousands of real-world examples of how LPR cameras have helped reunite families. Last summer, a 3-month-old infant was kidnapped in a small Michigan town. After officers arrived on the scene and developed a suspect, they were able to enter a description of his car into their local LPR system. When the identified car passed an LPR camera the system alerted local police, enabling them to initiate a traffic stop and arrest the suspect, safely returning the child within 25 minutes.

Implementing LPRs across the board is not universally accepted. Some privacy hawks question the use of these devices, and lawmakers are considering policies to limit the use of this pivotal crime-solving solution. Additional obstacles include the limited visibility on major highways and roadways in many states, which are unable to utilize these powerful tools. This creates a significant blind spot for law enforcement when attempting to rescue missing children.

While the ethical considerations surrounding License Plate Readers (LPRs) are valid and warrant careful policy development, it is crucial to recognize their substantial benefits in enhancing public safety. Many crimes would not be solved without LPRs. Loved ones would not experience the feeling of justice being served and families would see longer reunification times.

As policymakers deliberate on the appropriate frameworks for LPR use, they must balance privacy concerns with the undeniable advantages these systems offer in solving crimes efficiently. Policies must outline reasonable guardrails that will ensure enhanced public safety and transparency that builds public trust. Detailing short-term data retention policies of 30 days or even ensuring that LPRs are strictly used by law enforcement and for active investigations only—not traffic stops—will ensure that there is no misuse of these devices.

If your child was kidnapped, you would hope that your local law enforcement would have all the tools and technology available to locate and rescue your child. Every second matters in situations like these. Thankfully, LPRs have proven to be invaluable tools for law enforcement, particularly in time-sensitive situations such as child abductions. By facilitating the collection of vital, objective evidence, these technologies significantly reduce response times and increase the likelihood that our most vulnerable citizens are returned to their families safely.

Maureen Flatley is an expert in government reform and oversight involving children and has spent decades advocating against victims of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Maureen works as an advisor to Stop Child Predators, a national organization confronting the victimization of children.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.