South Carolina halts license plate reader setup on state roads

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – The installation of license plate readers along state roadways have been paused by the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

The bill would determine who would be able to use license plate readers, as well as, how the information gathered can be used.

The bill states only law enforcement and government entities would have access to the information collected, and that the data will be erased after 90 days.

“All of the data only goes to law enforcement investigations,” said Mark Amos, a Senior SLED Agent. “It is not something that they just go on and like a google search, they don’t just go search and random tags. There is always a reason to search one of these tags.”

Oconee County Sheriff, Mike Crenshaw (R), said the cameras can help find people who commit crimes.

“It allows us to be really a force multiplier when something bad happens,” Crenshaw said. “We can utilize this technology to keep our citizens safe and put bad people in jail.”

Senator Brian Adams (R – Berkeley) said the cameras can get information to law enforcement quickly.

“The whole point of it is sometimes to not about catch them in 48 hours, about catching them in 12 hours before they harm somebody else, and that’s what LPR does,” Adams said. “It cuts down that time a lot of times before anybody else is injured or killed or hurt.”

The South Carolina Department of Transportation said they are halting further installation awaiting guidance from legislation.

“It is unclear to SCDOT whether or not these devices are authorized in the state-owned right of way,” SCDOT said.

Law Enforcement said each camera costs about $2,000 to $3,000 to buy and install.

As part of the bill, the government entity authorized to use the cameras would not be allowed to sell the data for any purposes.