The primary role of a Peace Officer in Georgia is to uphold the constitutional rights of all. Recent federal court rulings have consistently upheld ALPR technology as a constitutional tool for aiding police investigations on public roadways. ALPR cameras capture images of vehicles in public view where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, and thus do not trigger Fourth Amendment protections. See Schmidt v. City of Norfolk (2026) or United States v. Porter (2026) for examples.
While case law establishes the constitutionality of using ALPRs on public roadways, Georgia state law strictly governs how that data is handled to protect the public from misuse. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-22, it is a crime to knowingly request, use, obtain, or attempt to obtain captured license plate data under false pretenses or for any purpose other than a legitimate law enforcement duty.
To further protect citizens’ privacy, this same statute explicitly exempts captured ALPR data from general Open Records Requests, ensuring the information remains secure from public disclosure.