Tempe, Arizona, became one of several Arizona jurisdictions to shut down its network of automated license plate readers this week, citing concerns about privacy and the potential for misuse.
The city turned off 33 Flock Safety cameras Wednesday, Aug. 26, and plans to terminate its contract with the company. Tempe officials said the system will not be replaced with license plate-reading technology, though they left the door open to future evaluation of similar tools should new safeguards emerge.
Flock’s pole-mounted cameras photograph the rear of every passing vehicle and log the plate number, color, make and model. Software the company has marketed as Vehicle Signature uses artificial intelligence to identify vehicles even when plates are missing or obscured.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) let its three-year Flock agreement expire in July, citing concerns about privacy and who controls the data collected by the cameras. A city inspector general audit had raised questions about how the technology was used and whether adequate oversight was in place.
Local Probe
Locally, a review conducted by Independent Police Auditor Teresa Magula and presented in July to the Community Police Oversight Commission (CPOC) concluded the department’s automated license plate reader (ALPR) network was not being fully utilized, with a substantial share of alerts going unreviewed and limited documentation of investigative outcomes tied to the technology.
Locally, 61 cameras are installed in Pasadena.
“The use of technology in law enforcement and in society in general has its supporters and detractors,” said Lisa Derderian, chief communications officer.
“Pasadena is always open to hearing both sides of every issue, as it makes us a better city. While there are horror stories about the use of technology elsewhere, we can point to the use of this technology in the recovery of stolen vehicles, in identifying suspects in serious crimes and in returning missing persons to their families safely.”
“We place the well-being and safety of our residents first and foremost and will use every tool reasonably available to protect our residents while safeguarding and honoring privacy rights.”
Last week, Councilmember Tyron Hampton asked city staff to suspend the city’s use of the Flock cameras pending further discussion.
“Our police department talks about community policing. Community policing, community policing,” Hampton said at the Aug. 24 City Council meeting. “We seem a little tone deaf to the community because the community is telling us they don’t want the cameras.”
The item appeared at the City Council’s Public Safety Committee earlier this year. The committee’s next regular meeting falls on Sept. 16.
Hampton supported removing the cameras, but supports ALPRs. Councilmember Justin Jones expressed concerns about the proliferation of the cameras in the Northwest Pasadena neighborhood he represents and questioned whether data-sharing agreements adequately protected residents from outside agencies’ access.
Vice Mayor Jess Rivas wants the cameras removed and no ALPRs to replace them. Steve Madison expressed support for the cameras. Madison also said he was open to adjusting data sharing and retention timeframes to address community concerns.
Three Failures, Three Successes
Critics have raised concerns about immigration officials’ access to the data, and police officers in some jurisdictions using the data to stalk their ex-partners.
CNN reported last week that a police officer in Kentucky was arrested after he used Flock a whopping 2,048 times to track his ex-girlfriend.
In Louisiana, a Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputy was fired this month after admitting he searched his former fiancée’s license plate more than 3,200 times over several years.
In Norfolk, Virginia, the top three search reasons — “cj,” “stolen,” and “inv” — accounted for nearly one third of 230,000 searches over two years. One officer repeatedly wrote “la la la la,” and it went unchallenged, raising concerns about the lack of meaningful audit review of officer justifications for searches.
There have been success stories also.
Lorain, Ohio, police credited Flock license plate reader cameras with helping officers capture a 16-year-old murder suspect less than 30 minutes after discovering 67-year-old Robert Lewis fatally shot at his home, according to accounts published by local media.
Police said the teenager later confessed and was charged with murder. Lorain police acknowledged concerns about license plate reader technology but said the case demonstrated its potential value in quickly identifying and apprehending suspects in violent crimes.
In Pinebluff, North Carolina, authorities said Flock cameras helped identify and arrest a 40-year-old man accused of killing his mother, his stepfather and his niece.
Investigators said Flock data placed a vehicle linked to Demetrius Aggelis traveling toward the home minutes before an armed person was seen entering, and leaving the area shortly afterward, contradicting statements he had provided investigators about his whereabouts at the time of the killings.
In Central Texas, Killeen police said Flock license plate reader cameras helped investigators track down a suspect in the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old woman in Copperas Cove.
After the victim was found suffering from a gunshot wound and later died, a witness identified the shooter as someone known to her and gave officers a description of his vehicle. Copperas Cove investigators said Flock data corroborated the witness account and helped locate the suspect.
Change on the Way
Flock Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Garrett Langley said earlier this month that optional guardrails will become mandatory for its users to implement by Jan. 1.
All law enforcement customers will have to implement an audit tool that’s intended to flag abnormal search behavior. According to Langley, when the system detects abnormal behavior, the user would be prompted to explain the query and, in some cases, would have access temporarily suspended pending supervisor review.
The standard data retention window will be shortened from 30 days to seven. Data could be preserved longer when it is evidence tied to a case number.
Law enforcement users will now also be required to enter a code tying each search to a specific investigation before the data can be viewed, something Langley said civil liberties advocates, like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have long requested.
However, the system would still allow for overrides, which would be automatically flagged for review, according to the company.
According to the Associated Press (AP), outside agencies would still be allowed to perform outside searches.
But now, customers will be allowed to decide which offense types outside agencies can search their data for, which would allow a customer to block outside searches related to immigration enforcement.
Langley said that change will give individual cities and departments control to use the system in a manner “consistent with community values.”
“While Flock has not shortened the default retention period to the ACLU’s recommended 48 hours, its proposal may be a step in the right direction,” the group said on its website. “Whether this is a real step forward will depend on how the changes are implemented and whether independent auditing keeps pace.”
According to the ACLU, if “Evidence Mode” only retains hit result data that police determine may be evidence in an active investigation of a specific case, then the change may be a positive one.
“But if ‘Evidence Mode’ triggers the retention of any ALPR data that is searched, then the new mode could indefinitely retain all the ALPR data Flock collects and shares nationally. This would make Flock’s promised reforms hollow.”
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