San Franciso's scofflaw squad - the team that tracks down those who have five or more unpaid parking tickets - has a wonderful new tool. They can simply drive down the street, and a camera system provided by ACS Inc. automatically scans the license plates of parked cars looking for violators. The system can handle as many as 250 plates per hour, Rachel Gordon of the Frisco Chronicle reports.

Unfortunately, Gordon's article reads like a press release and she completely fails to note any of the possible downsides of this or similar systems, such as what wonderful new systems might be developed in the future. For instance, since some license plates are too dirty or too askew to be read, why not install RFID chips in them? Or, how about simply doing away with the need for the scofflaw squad entirely by giving the State direct access to an override switch in the car? Or, what about using the same technology in surveillance cameras to look for stolen cars and fugitives? The mind simply reels with all the possibilities no doubt to come.