L.A. to Scan License Plates, Shame Random People For Driving Through ‘Prostitution Area’

Like any technology used by our government, it was only a matter of time before license plate scanners were used by the state to bully the population in outrageous ways. In Los Angeles, City Councilwoman Nury Martinez has proposed a creepy way to use these license plate scanners to deter prostitution.

By setting up the cameras in an area that is frequently trafficked by prostitutes, she hopes to scan the license plates of every person who drives through the area. However, this isn’t about collecting evidence for a crime (albeit, a victimless crime). The goal is to develop a mailing list of everyone who has driven through the neighborhood. “Shame letters” can then be sent out to the homes of suspected “Johns” in the hopes that spouses and girlfriends will read them.

Martinez told CBS that “If you aren’t soliciting, you have no reason to worry about finding one of these letters in your mailbox. But if you are, these letters will discourage you from returning. Soliciting for sex in our neighborhoods is not OK.” In reality, people should be worried. This system is indiscriminate, and could easily shame anyone who has a legitimate reason to drive through the neighborhood. How many marriages do you suppose will be destroyed by this Orwellian idea? And how long will it take before all commerce grinds to a halt in that neighborhood, as everyone refuses to even drive near it?

Believe it or not, this kind of shaming already exists in some cities, though it hasn’t been fully automated like Martinez wants it to be. According to the National Institute of Justice, police in Oakland, Des Moines, and Minneapolis have sent out these shame letters to known and suspected Johns.