The influx of Automatic License Plate Reader or ALPR cameras across the nation has led to an uproar over mass surveillance systems. Flock Safety ALPR cameras are the best-known, but about a dozen security companies produce similar cameras.
Unlike traditional automatic traffic enforcement cameras, Flock cameras are not triggered by motion and track every car in view to catalog the car and license plate number. This information is then uploaded to a nationwide database accessed by any law enforcement agency with a Flock contract.
Recently, an ALPR camera was logged at Peterborough Town Hall on FlockHopper and DeFlock, both mapping websites tracking ALPR cameras. According to the websites, the camera is supposedly owned by the police department.
Nicole MacStay, town administrator, confirmed the Town of Peterborough does not have Flock cameras.
“The only outdoor cameras we have are building security cameras on municipally-owned facilities,” MacStay wrote in an email.
The information found on FlockHopper and DeFlock comes from OpenStreetMap, a database with data supplied by volunteers, which can be unreliable.
In addition to tracking license plate numbers, the cameras catalog the make, model, color, stickers and scratches on a car, according to the ACLU. This is done with artificial intelligence.
Approximately 80,000 – 100,000 Flock cameras have been installed across the United States, with fewer than 1% of cars scanned connected to a crime and with 1 in 10 states’ license plates misread, the ACLU reported.