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The Associated Press
St. Paul, Minn.

License plate readers get new regulations, body cams won't

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License Plate Ready System
In this March 18, 2011 photo, Maplewood, Minn., police officer Steven Hiebert (shown) uses the License Plate Ready System, which consists of a camera that photographs license plates and then compares them with those in a database of stolen vehicles.Minnesota law enforcement has used license plate readers mounted on squad cars as a means of tracking down stolen cars and criminals for years, but there's no statewide regulation of their use. In light of recent government abuses of state DVS and DNR databases, the Legislature will look to put restrictions on what data cops can collect and how long they can keep it, as well as stopping the tracking information from getting out into the public.
AP Photo | Star Tribune, Jim Gehrz

Minnesota lawmakers have approved legislation imposing regulations on police agencies that use license plate readers, but they will wait for now to set new laws for body cameras.

The compromise bill sent Sunday to Gov. Mark Dayton limits how long agencies can keep location data gathered by cameras on squad cars or at fixed locations. Data unrelated to active criminal investigations must be destroyed within 60 days. The collected data would be deemed nonpublic.

Additionally, police agencies that use them must keep logs of use and submit to independent audits once every two years.

Lawmakers have been trying for two years to balance plate readers as tools for investigation with concerns of warrantless surveillance.

The House and Senate deadlocked on rules for body camera use and data access.