Larry Rhoden
Role at the time: Governor of South Dakota, in an emailed statement from his office
Statement summary
In a statement sent by his press secretary, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden said license plate readers recently helped save a kidnapped 15-year-old girl in the state and that "this technology works," while sound guardrails are needed. He said his team is working with law enforcement and the attorney general to determine those guardrails.
“Just a few weeks ago, license plate readers here in South Dakota helped save a 15-year-old girl who had been kidnapped! This technology works; but like anything, we must have sound guardrails in place. My team is actively working with law enforcement and the Attorney General to determine what those guardrails look like.”
Read the full email
The number one responsibility of government is keeping people safe – and we should do so responsibly and with an eye to privacy. Just a few weeks ago, license plate readers here in South Dakota helped save a 15-year-old girl who had been kidnapped! This technology works; but like anything, we must have sound guardrails in place. My team is actively working with law enforcement and the Attorney General to determine what those guardrails look like.
Press Secretary Josie Harms sent this statement by email, attributed to Gov. Larry Rhoden, in reply to a Dispute Index request about license plate readers. The link is to the governor's website; the statement itself is not published there. The text is reproduced as sent, with a garbled character restored to the dash it represents.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Rhoden defends the readers as technology that works, citing a kidnapping rescue, and calls for guardrails his team is still developing, which supports continued use with safeguards, so we labeled it Defended with the Guardrails step. His call for guardrails does not make his support conditional.