New Rules Govern License Plate Readers in MN

ST. CLOUD -- Law enforcement agencies in Minnesota have some new rules to abide by when using electronic license plate readers.

Lawmakers passed legislation restricting the data gathered from the technology to a maximum of 60 days.

WJON News asked St. Cloud Police Chief Blair Anderson if that is an adequate amount of time. Anderson says he believes it's not an adequate amount of time to keep the data but his department will abide by the new rules.

License plate readers are an infrared camera which gathers the data on that vehicle and its owner.  It allows officers to get the information quickly without having to enter the license plate data manually.  Anderson says it gives officers alerts to the vehicle's owner and whether that vehicle may have been used in a crime, for example.

St. Cloud contracts with Mille Lacs County to handle the data collection and storage of that data.