What are ALPRs
Example of an annotated license plate reader photo showing captured vehicle details
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs or LPRs) are AI-powered cameras that capture and analyze images of all passing vehicles, storing details like your car's location, date, and time. They also capture your car's make, model, color, and identifying features such as dents, roof racks, and bumper stickers, often turning these into searchable data points.
These cameras collect data on millions of vehicles regardless of whether the driver is suspected of a crime. These systems are marketed as indispensable tools to fight crime, but they ignore the powerful tools police already have to track criminals, such as cell phone location data, creating a loophole that doesn't require a warrant.
The Dangers of ALPRs
Privacy Violations
ALPRs track your movements and store your data for long periods of time, creating a detailed record of your location history.
Risk of Misuse
Data from ALPRs has led to wrongful arrests, profiling, and stalking ex-partners by police officers.
Limited Benefits
There's no substantial evidence that ALPRs effectively prevent crime, despite Flock's unethical attempts to prove otherwise.
ALPRs are a serious risk to your privacy and civil liberties. These systems continuously record your movements without a warrant, probable cause, or even reasonable suspicion. Your driving history is rarely confined to the town or city where the cameras are installed. It's typically shared with thousands of other agencies nationwide (secretly). Once the data is out of your community, you have no control over how it's used or what rules apply, leading to instances of misuse.
What is Flock?
Flock Safety is one of the largest ALPR vendors in the United States. Their cameras are installed for police departments, businesses, and HOAs. Captured vehicle data is uploaded to Flock's cloud system, where participating agencies can search and share information across jurisdictions.
Flock is not the only ALPR vendor, and other vendors still participate in similar practices. See this list of other common ALPR vendors.
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