How Md. uses surveillance, data to track motorists, traffic

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland — Motorists in Maryland may be aware of the cameras that enforce speed and red-light violations, but the state’s tracking practices include other layers to assist in law enforcement efforts, and for traffic and planning purposes.

Through the different practices, Maryland collects both anonymous and identifiable information — depending on the method — about driving patterns, raising concerns for privacy advocates.

“I don’t think it’s really an issue of whether you have privacy in a particular moment in time,” said Dave Maass, senior investigative researcher at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit that defends civil liberties in the digital age. “But rather whether the government — and companies — should be tracking you over time and space, and then storing and selling that information.”

The Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center assists “federal, state, local and private-sector partners in the collection, analysis and dissemination of criminal and homeland security within Maryland,” according to its mission statement.

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