Oregon Police Give Nightclubs ID Scanners to Datamine Customers
Police blame bar owners for not knowing law after getting caught pushing them into surveillance program
Mikael Thalen
Prisonplanet.com
February 13, 2014
Police in Multnomah County quietly suspended a new data mining program this week after a local newspaper began questioning its legality.
For the last several weeks, police have issued ID-scanning devices to clubs and bars all throughout Portland’s Old Town neighborhood. The scanners not only captured customers’ personal data, including names and photos, but uploaded all the information to a police database.
After receiving a three-year alcohol abuse reduction grant in 2011, Multnomah County awarded the nonprofit “Lines for Life” $60,000 to obtain the police-run scanners for multiple drinking establishments.
Despite Oregon law placing strict limits on storing and sharing information from ID scanners specifically, police were persistent in getting local bars to comply with the program.
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