Local governments across the country are embracing Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) to fight crime.
asserted
governments → embrace → crime
At the center of this trend is Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based tech startup.
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Safety → base → trend
Flock promises an easy solution to property crime by installing AI-powered cameras on public roads.
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Flock → promise → roads
It sounds like a reasonable upgrade to traditional policing, but a massive backlash is growing over civil liberties and the misuse of public trust.
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backlash → sound → trust
Nearly two decades ago, when I served as the elected president of the Queen Anne’s County Commission in Maryland, our board faced a similar dilemma.
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board → serve → dilemma
A traffic camera company wanted to track speeding vehicles’ license plates in the county, and they also entertained proposing those crossing the Preston Lane Memorial Bay Bridge.
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they → want → Bridge
The pitch focused entirely on safety.
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pitch → focus → safety
However, after listening to principled civil arguments from our constituents about privacy and government overreach, we shut the project down.
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we → listen → project
We chose to protect individual liberty over automated tracking.
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We → choose → tracking
These are not standard traffic cameras that only take photos when a driver runs a red light.
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driver → take → light
Flock cameras use artificial intelligence to capture a unique digital fingerprint of every vehicle.
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cameras → use → vehicle
They log license plates, vehicle color, make, model, bumper stickers, and roof racks.
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They → log → plates
Crucially, this data feeds into a massive national database.
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data → feed → database
A police officer in one state can easily track the movements of a vehicle thousands of miles away.
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officer → track → miles
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Flock has deployed more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states.
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Flock → accord → states
The system relies on a massive trade-off: the constant, warrantless tracking of millions of entirely innocent citizens.
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system → rely → citizens
This lack of privacy boundaries has led to real-world consequences.
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lack → lead → consequences
Numerous reports show police officers using the network for unauthorized personal surveillance.
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officers → show → surveillance
Officers in multiple states have been investigated or fired after using the database to stalk ex-partners or acquaintances.
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Officers → investigate → partners
Furthermore, the centralized data has drawn fire from both sides of the political spectrum.
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data → draw → spectrum
Local communities have discovered that federal agencies can tap into this data without local voter consent.
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agencies → discover → consent
The Electronic Frontier Foundation warns that these networks create an invasive life-tracking map that is highly susceptible to grave abuses.
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that → warn → abuses
It has turned into a practical rebellion.
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It → turn → rebellion
Across the United States, citizens have begun vandalizing or physically cutting down cameras.
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citizens → begin → cameras
On the political front, the tide is turning just as fast.
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tide → turn → front
Advocacy groups report that over 200 cities, counties, and local governments have terminated their contracts or deactivated their networks.
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cities → report → networks
This resistance cuts across partisan lines.
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resistance → cut → lines
Deep-blue cities like Los Angeles and Cambridge have canceled their contracts.
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cities → cancel → contracts
At the same time, conservative communities and state governments are pushing back.
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communities → push → time
Florida recently restricted local police from deploying these readers on state highways, while cities like Tempe, Arizona, shut down their programs due to public outcry.
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cities → restrict → outcry
In response to this pressure, Flock Safety recently shortened its default data retention period from 30 days to seven days.
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Safety → shorten → days
While this change shows the company recognizes its public relations crisis, it does not solve the core issue.
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it → show → issue
Public safety is a fundamental duty of local government, but it should not require permanent surveillance.
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it → require → surveillance
When technology allows bad actors to stalk citizens and lets federal agencies bypass local oversight, the system is broken.
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system → allow → oversight
The stance we took in Queen Anne’s County twenty years ago is becoming the standard across the nation.
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we → take → nation
As more local contracts come up for renewal, lawmakers face a clear choice: protect the constitutional privacy rights of their constituents, or continue funding a private national surveillance grid.
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lawmakers → come → grid
Eric Wargotz is a policy, analyst and writer, practicing physician, former U.S. Senate nominee, and former elected president of the Queen Anne’s County Board of Commissioners in Maryland.
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Wargotz → practice → Maryland
The Aporia
