Eyes on the Road: Flock cameras raise privacy concerns as police expand license plate tracking
As the technology expands, so do concerns about privacy — and the potential for misuse.
More Stories
Flock cameras are popping up across the Tri-State Area and around the country, giving police departments a powerful new tool.
But as the technology expands, so do concerns about privacy — and the potential for misuse.
Flock Safety, the company behind the system, operates a network of cameras and license plate readers that capture images and vehicle information as drivers pass by. The data is stored and can be shared among law enforcement agencies.
Drivers cannot opt out.
Civil rights attorney Frederick Brewington says the rapid growth of the technology has outpaced safeguards designed to protect the public.
“Technology clearly has outpaced society,” Brewington said. “Right now we're responding to technology rather than us controlling technology.”
Brewington warns that without adequate oversight, the technology could create what he calls an “Orwellian concept” in which people's movements can be tracked without their knowledge.
Police departments, however, say Flock cameras are helping them fight crime.
The technology can alert officers when a vehicle connected to a criminal investigation passes a camera. Police say that can help them recover stolen cars, identify suspects and find missing people.
In the Village of Hempstead, the technology has become a major part of the department's policing strategy.
The village is only about 3.7 square miles, but it has roughly 75 Flock cameras within its borders.
Police Chief Richard Holland says the cameras have helped triple the number of arrests involving stolen vehicles.
“Flock almost instantly, as it comes into the village, we get the alert,” Holland said. “We can kind of project which way or which direction that vehicle is going to.”
But the same technology that gives police an additional set of eyes on the road raises questions about who else might be watching — and how the information could be used.
The nonprofit Institute for Justice has identified at least 30 instances in which police officials allegedly used Flock data to track the license plate of a romantic interest, raising concerns that officers could use the technology for personal reasons.
Flock Safety says safeguards are in place to prevent improper use. The company says every search is logged and that users must provide a specific reason for conducting a search, including the type of offense being investigated.
The company is also requiring all customers to use a tool called Audit Assistance by the end of the year. The system is designed to flag abnormal search activity.
Police departments also have their own policies governing how officers can use the technology.
Holland says officers who violate those policies can face disciplinary action.
“Any member determined to have violated that policy after a full and thorough investigation will be disciplined,” Holland said.
