Copyright NBC10 Boston
Dozens of police departments in Massachusetts are deploying Flock Safety's automated license plate reader technology, or ALPR. The cameras capture and record license plates and locations as cars pass by. Using artificial intelligence, police who are contracted to use the system can track a motorist as they investigate a crime. The network of cameras works together, tracking vehicles passing by. Flock Safety Chief Legal Officer Dan Haley explains the cameras capture what's in public view. "Which is simply the exact same information you were collecting with your eyeballs if you were standing on the street watching cars go by in front of you," said Haley. Haley said what is collected typically sits on a server for about 30 days and is searchable by police departments that are contracted to use the system. "It helps the officers to develop leads much quicker, and to hone in on the likely perpetrator based on location," said Haley. Haley said the police department using the system dictates who can access it — including federal agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "So if a city wishes to keep its data contained within its borders, and not allow any outside agencies to access that data, they are able to do that within the system," he said. The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts has been closely monitoring the technology. "Wherever Flock Safety's license plate readers are installed, sensitive data about residents may be automatically shared with thousands of law enforcement agencies nationwide, including agencies involved in civil immigration enforcement and located in states that ban abortion," Kade Crockford, director of technology and justice programs at the ACLU of Massachusetts, wrote in a statement. "This data sharing sidesteps local democratic control, exposes our sensitive driving records to hostile actors, and undermines the effectiveness of our Shield Law, which aims to protect people in our state from politically motivated harassment and prosecution. Communities must act to protect privacy, which is the foundation for a free and democratic society, by immediately ending their participation in this nationwide data sharing." John Carmichael, a former police chief in Newton and Walpole, points out how this technology is also effective for overall public safety. "A missing person, an Amber Alert, somebody with dementia or Alzheimer's," Carmichael explained. "This information can be added into the system so that if that vehicle passes by, law enforcement's going to be alerted." Carmichael adds that technology is crucial in modern policing. "As society evolves and technology evolves, and law enforcement has access to this type of technology, it can be very effective in helping them do their job," said Carmichael. Flock Safety's ALPR can also be used by private companies, like a shopping mall or apartment complex, and the owner can opt in to share with law enforcement.
