US Bureaucrats Hide Behind Motoring Privacy Laws

New moves will conceal the identities of government officials from California's Department of Motor Vehicles(DMV) records.

The Sacramento Assembly Committee recently agreed to extend anonymity to zoo veterinarians, humane society shelter workers and about 100 Board of Equalization tax investigators.

The original intention of such security measures was to protect police officers and their families from possible recrimination. But successive legislation has extended the right of privacy to cover a whole host of minor officials, including despatch riders and museum staff - professions not generally associated with a high level of unwanted attention.

There is growing concern that the policy of hiding home addresses is open to abuse by those simply seeking to evade parking fines and speeding tickets. There are many reports of offences being disregarded where those holding protected plates are involved.

Critics argue that, under current laws, safeguards are no longer required, because DMV records are confidential anyway. Many legal experts agree and several similar proposals to expand the level of exemption have been overturned.

The state Transportation Committee's own investigations concluded that "adding more groups to the list of those eligible for peace officer confidentiality served no useful purpose and was simply another administrative burden for state and local agencies."

Interestingly, the committee also acknowledges, with some irony that, the advent of largely unmonitored internet access has made much of the potentially sensitive information readily obtainable online anyway.

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