Automatic license plate cameras are going up across Hawaii without a public vote, which police call a win for public safety and residents call creeping surveillance.

• State and city cameras scan and log every passing plate, keeping the data for 90 days whether or not a crime is involved.
• Honolulu police have council approval for Chinatown and Waikiki but want the cameras across all of Oahu.
• A state contract allows up to 400 of these cameras statewide.
• Ewa Beach residents, including Navy veteran Jon Stewart, are angry the cameras appeared with no community vote or discussion.
• Police credit the technology with 28 arrests on Oahu over six years, a figure critics say is thin for blanket surveillance.

Outlook: Expect pressure on the City Council to hold public hearings before the program expands island-wide.