Citizens across the country are up in arms about Flock surveillance cameras equipped with automated license plate readers. These cameras create a “footprint” of every vehicle that crosses their path. That data can then be used to locate a vehicle using Flock’s nationwide network of cameras.
There are several problems with the system. In one lawsuit, filed in Virginia, a group claims the cameras violate the Fourth Amendment. There is also the issue of Flock’s past pilot programs, in which its data was shared with the Department of Homeland Security. That includes data that local authorities, who are renting the cameras, didn’t consent to share.
A perfect example of why people are angry over automated license plate readers
Then there is the fact that sometimes, the Flock cameras just don’t work properly. Case in point: police in Arkansas recently pulled over a vehicle and ordered a family out of an SUV at gunpoint after an automatic license plate reading camera flagged the wrong car.
The incident involved officers with the Sherwood Police Department in Arkansas. In body cam video, two police officers pull their guns on a family that was guilty of no crime.
Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, and the situation did not escalate. That being said, both the mother and the father of an infant who was in the SUV were each handcuffed and detained. It is situations like this that have led to activists in at least five states systematically destroying Flock cameras.
After radioing in the license plate to dispatch, one of the officers finds that the “X” on the plate was read as “Y” by the automated license plate reader. Which means, to the surprise of one of the officers, they pulled over the wrong people.
“I appreciate you being cool,” one of the officers tells the man as he takes off the handcuffs. “Again, I didn’t know exactly what we’re coming up on.”
“Those cameras, they’re placed everywhere and they hit license plates and they’ll flag, but I’m not going to say they’re completely perfect cuz, you know, that’s modern technology,” the other officer tells the woman. “Especially if y’all got a license plate thing. Sometimes if a camera hits it at an angle or something, it might block it and then, yeah.”