Attorney General Alan Wilson joins two multistate coalitions to preserve access to critical crime-fighting tool

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – Attorney General Alan Wilson has joined two multi-state coalitions in fighting to preserve access to automatic license-plate readers – a critical law enforcement tool that has helped solve murders, kidnappings, and armed robberies.

“Law enforcement uses important tools to keep our communities safe,” Attorney General Wilson stated. “Removing these license plate readers would make everyone less safe.”

In both lawsuits, individuals have challenged law enforcement’s use of automatic license-plate readers because the readers allegedly violate their privacy under the Fourth Amendment. However, as Attorney General Wilson points out in two “friend-of-the-court” briefs, nearly every court agrees that there is no privacy in license plates because they are out in the open for everyone to see. And automatic license-plate readers are important tools for law enforcement to quickly find and catch bad actors.

As stated in the briefs, “If courts strip law enforcement of this valuable crime-fighting tool, our streets will be more dangerous, our investigations less effective, our criminals emboldened, and our people less safe. Nothing in the Constitution requires that chilling result.”

The following attorneys general have joined South Carolina in signing these Georgia-led briefs: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

Find a copy of the briefs here and here.