Police are using surveillance tech to stalk love interests. Dystopia, here we come | Arwa Mahdawi
Summary
Flock is a tech company that sells cameras to police departments to read car license plates and track vehicles. These systems can be easily accessed by officers, leading to privacy concerns and some cases of misuse, including police spying on people for personal reasons.Key Facts
- Flock sells automated license plate readers (ALPRs) used by many U.S. law enforcement agencies.
- There are over 80,000 Flock cameras installed across the United States.
- Data from these cameras can be shared with federal and local law agencies for investigations.
- Reports show some police officers have used the data to stalk ex-partners or people they are interested in.
- Most officers caught misusing the system were charged and lost their jobs.
- Many cases of misuse likely go unreported or undiscovered.
- Civil rights groups argue police should need a search warrant to access this tracking data.
- Flock’s system only requires officers to enter a reason in the system, making it easy to search without a warrant.
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