Once reserved for police, license plate readers marketed to homeowners to reduce crime

FORT MILL, S.C. (WJZY) — Is it Big Brother or a big step towards reducing crime?

Mass surveillance tools like automatic license plate readers, a tool once reserved for law enforcement, are now being marketed to homeowners and businesses as a way to lower crime. Police say the cameras will help solve cases. Privacy advocates worry about the potential for abuse.

“It’s deeply troubling,” said American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina executive director Frank Knaack.

Knaack is pushing for a law that would help safeguard data captured by cameras that vacuum up license plate numbers.

“It enables law enforcement to get around any warrant requirements that exist,” he said. “So they can have access to this trove of private information about individuals without going through any court.”

In the quiet Eppington South neighborhood in Fort Mill, Kyle Adams is checking the mail. He has lived here for more than 20 years and is worried about crime or the new eye in the sky he spotted a few days ago.

“If you’re going to let something like that bother you,” said Adams, “then you’re going to be a very bothered person.”

Adams points to the fact that “mass surveillance” is everywhere.

“Every time you go on the internet, every time you send or receive an email, go to a website,” he said, “conduct any kind of transaction, it’s all recorded.”

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At the entrance to his community are two poles with a camera on top. They record the license plates of cars that come and go. The homeowner’s association pays $2,500 a year for the camera, according to Flock Safety, the Atlanta-based company that makes them.

“We started Flock to eliminate non-violent crime,” said Meg Heusel, who does marketing for the company in an online video.

“License plates give police the lead they need to actually solve crimes,” said Bailey Quintrell, who does business development.

The company is partnering with Tega Cay Police to encourage homeowners and businesses to buy into the technology. They will hold a virtual community meeting on Feb. 9 to talk to residents interested in these cameras.

The police department purchased four cameras, which have been active since October, at a taxpayer cost of $11,000. Capt. James Patterson calls the cameras “a huge success.”

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“We’ve located a suspect wanted for strangulation, a suspect for burglary and escape, recovered 3 stolen vehicles,” said Patterson in an email. “[Possession with intent to distribute] [m]eth and [h]eroin just to mention a few cases over the past several months, not to mention a suicidal subject was located and help[ed] to receive the proper medical attention.”

The ACLU is worried about the potential for police to use the data for tracking purposes and raise questions about where the data goes. In 2019, the ACLU found a different automated license plate reader company, Vigilant Solutions, which sold its data to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Flock is seeking to calm fears and told NewsNation affiliate WJZY it does not work with ICE or sell data.

“We understand the concerns with technology capturing this type of public information,” said Flock Safety spokesman Joshua Miller, “and we built the technology to protect people and equitably promote public safety.”

The motion-activated cameras capture car features like the make, model, color, and license plate but do not record any personally identifiable information like names, addresses, phone numbers or use facial recognition technology, Miller said. They cost $25,00 a year a piece.

He says the company is taking steps to safeguard data. The company points to the several steps it is taking:

Footage is stored in a secure and encrypted cloud and automatically deleted every 30 days.
The cameras take photos and there is no live video feed. No one monitors the system and “it is not used for the purposes of surveillance,” Miller said.
The company does not work “in any capacity” for traffic enforcement, unpaid fines, or speeding violations.
The company does not work with federal agencies for immigration purposes or with any type of immigration services.
Customers “completely own their data.” The company says it doesn’t share or sell data to any third parties. If a homeowner’s association wants to turn data over to law enforcement, “the community decides who gets access,” said Miller. Law enforcement can be given temporary or permanent access to footage.
Authorized police users go through training to use the technology and ensure that information is vetted, verified, and auditable.