Re: "Privacy czar to investigate licence scans," July 31.
The privacy investigation into police use of licence-plate scans is unnecessary overkill.
Every individual has a public and a private persona. The public persona includes information that is readily available to everyone from public activities and from public records, such as the ownership of residences, motor vehicles and other property.
The private persona includes information relating to interactions with family members and friends, and other details of one's life normally considered to be private. The privacy commissioner should be concerned only about improper use of private-persona information.
There is no valid reason for the commissioner to be interested in police use of scanned licence-plate information, that being public-persona information.
There are many impediments to police investigations and to discovery of evidence potentially of value in criminal proceedings. We do not need to place additional barriers in the way of the police. If on some interpretation of statutory or common law the privacy commissioner disagrees, then it is time for remedial legislation to be enacted.
Robert H. Barrigar
Victoria
