SCPIF V. SLED
In South Carolina, the movements of millions of drivers are tracked by a web of automated license plate reader cameras (ALPRs) that feed into a vast database run by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
SLED uses these cameras to indiscriminately capture more than 100 million time- and location-stamped photos of vehicles on South Carolina roads each year. SLED stores this information in a searchable, centralized database to which it has given at least 70 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies access.
These time-and-location-stamped photos can reveal a great deal about a person’s life, including what medical professionals they see, what political gatherings they attend, and who they visit, among other intimate details. But SLED’s decision to create and disseminate travel information on law-abiding drivers in South Carolina was made without any permission or authority from the legislature. As a result, there are no legislative guardrails to protect against misuse and abuse. In fact, SLED has not even adopted formal regulations to govern the ALPR program. There are thus no enforceable guidelines constraining how the photos may be used, how long they may be stored, and who many access them.
Our lawsuit, South Carolina Public Interest Foundation v. South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division, asks the Court to declare the program unconstitutional. The case implicates the core of our mission: to ensure that policing practices are democratically accountable. The case is not about whether an ALPR program may be wise; it is about whether a law enforcement agency can implement one unilaterally, without authorization from the people’s elected representatives.
The Plaintiffs are advocates for government accountability and the rule of law.
In the trial court, the judge granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment and ruled that certain South Carolina laws give SLED implicit authorization to operate its ALPR program. We are appealing that decision to the South Carolina Court of Appeals.