Sarasota Police highlight license plate reader technology amid scrutiny

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Automated license plate readers have become an increasingly controversial tool for law enforcement, raising questions about privacy and how the technology is used.The Sarasota Police Department says the technology is helping officers develop leads, locate suspects and solve cases.ABC 7 recently got a behind-the-scenes look inside the department’s Real-Time Operations Center, where officers demonstrated how technology is being used in modern investigations.Automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, use cameras to scan the license plates of passing vehicles. Officers can then search the collected data for information that could help move an investigation forward.Police pointed to the 2008 abduction and murder of Denise Amber Lee as an example of how the technology could potentially make a difference. The department says having access to ALPR technology at the time could have helped investigators identify the vehicle involved and potentially find Lee much sooner.Po