The Mail on Sunday has revealed that police are in possession of nearly half a billion (478,966,518) images of Scottish drivers captured by a network of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. The location of the ANPR cameras remain undisclosed by the police and were originally intended for combatting organised crime and terrorism. However, they have now amassed an overwhelming number of images, equivalent to 150 for every vehicle and driver in Scotland, most of whom have not committed any crimes. The revelation has sparked concerns among campaigners and politicians, who argue that Scottish drivers are among the most closely surveyed in the world.
Jake Hurfurt, head of research and investigations at Big Brother Watch, said: "Millions of innocent people have their journey captured and saved by police and other systems as a matter of course, and this level of surveillance has no place in a democratic society.
"ANPR being a fact of everyday life – when it started out in a counter terror context – is a prime example of mission creep in an area dangerously lacking in regulation."
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