License‑plate networks rescue children

Automated license‑plate reader networks operated by private firms (e.g., Flock) have played a recurring, concrete role in locating and recovering abducted minors, but their life‑saving use is often omitted from policy debates that focus on privacy harms. The omission skews public and legislative decision‑making, producing contract cancellations and proposed bans without fully accounting for rescue outcomes. — Balancing privacy law and policing policy requires recognizing that banning or curtailing private ALPR networks can materially reduce law‑enforcement capacity to solve rare but high‑stakes crimes like nonfamily child abductions.