Oct 6, 2026 · 19 min · 9 segments
They’re watching thousands of vehicles travel Northwest Illinois every day — but are automatic license plate readers an essential crime-fighting tool or a growing threat to privacy? In this special…
An ALPR photographs a passing vehicle and uses optical character recognition to identify the license plate.
Depending on the system, it can also record characteristics, such as the vehicle's make, model, and color, along with the date, time, and location.
Illinois State Police say its ALPR system compares plate numbers against law enforcement databases, including the National Crime Information Center and Illinois' LEADS system.
State Police say the cameras can assist investigations involving missing people, AMBER Alerts, and vehicles connected to serious crimes.
In Stephenson County, Sheriff Steve Stovall says his office currently operates 14 ALPR cameras using a combination of Flock and Motorola's Vigilant technology.
We find them as a very, uh, very important investigative tool these days.
Stovall emphasizes that the cameras are not continuously streaming video of motorists.
Absolutely not.
It's just, it's, it's taking the information of the, the vehicle going by at a certain time on a certain day, and that's it.
Instead, Stovall says, investigators generally turn to the system when they already have information connecting a vehicle to an investigation.
Investigators may then search ALPR records to determine whether a vehicle matching that description passed a nearby camera around the time of the crime.
It's a tool.
It's, it tells us the plate, and it tells us a vehicle make or model.
It doesn't tell us anything else.
Stovall says the Stephenson County system returns still photographs rather than continuous video or audio, and there are limitations.
Stovall described one burglary investigation in which deputies had an image of the suspect vehicle and searched the ALPR system.
The vehicle apparently never passed one of their cameras, and that distinction matters.
An ALPR doesn't continuously know where a vehicle is, but put enough cameras in enough places, and those individual snapshots can begin to describe movement, and that is where the privacy debate begins.
An ALPR photographs a passing vehicle and uses optical character recognition to identify the license plate.
Depending on the system, it can also record characteristics, such as the vehicle's make, model, and color, along with the date, time, and location.
Illinois State Police say its ALPR system compares plate numbers against law enforcement databases, including the National Crime Information Center and Illinois' LEADS system.
State Police say the cameras can assist investigations involving missing people, AMBER Alerts, and vehicles connected to serious crimes.
In Stephenson County, Sheriff Steve Stovall says his office currently operates 14 ALPR cameras using a combination of Flock and Motorola's Vigilant technology.
We find them as a very, uh, very important investigative tool these days.
Stovall emphasizes that the cameras are not continuously streaming video of motorists.
Absolutely not.
It's just, it's, it's taking the information of the, the vehicle going by at a certain time on a certain day, and that's it.
Instead, Stovall says, investigators generally turn to the system when they already have information connecting a vehicle to an investigation.
Investigators may then search ALPR records to determine whether a vehicle matching that description passed a nearby camera around the time of the crime.
It's a tool.
It's, it tells us the plate, and it tells us a vehicle make or model.
It doesn't tell us anything else.
Stovall says the Stephenson County system returns still photographs rather than continuous video or audio, and there are limitations.
Stovall described one burglary investigation in which deputies had an image of the suspect vehicle and searched the ALPR system.
The vehicle apparently never passed one of their cameras, and that distinction matters.
An ALPR doesn't continuously know where a vehicle is, but put enough cameras in enough places, and those individual snapshots can begin to describe movement, and that is where the privacy debate begins.
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