The RCMP say they will decide within the next three months whether to store information on thousands of B.C. drivers who have done nothing other than pass in front of an automated police camera.
Currently, police cameras record 3,000 licence plates an hour in the province, but keep data only on drivers who have such things as outstanding warrants, dangerous criminal histories or expired insurance.
However, the RCMP say they could expand the mass surveillance system as a tracking tool. The changes could affect drivers in Saanich, Victoria and throughout the capital region, where police departments with existing licence-plate camera systems follow RCMP policies.
Privacy advocates say such a move is "unjustifiable," adding police don't have the right - or the authority under the law - to compile a database of people's personal information and previous locations without a warrant.
