Metro Detroit pushes back on license plate readers
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A growing backlash against automated license plate readers is spreading across Metro Detroit, where communities are removing cameras, rejecting new ones and — in some cases — vandals are taking matters into their own hands.
Why it matters: Police say the cameras help them quickly find suspects, stolen vehicles and missing people. Privacy advocates worry increasingly sophisticated networks can track people's movements with insufficient oversight.
Driving the news: Flock Safety, the country's largest license plate reader company, is facing mounting scrutiny nationally over privacy, data sharing and misuse concerns.
- Flock partners with more than 7,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide and is adding customers at roughly 10 times the rate that agencies leave, a company spokesperson tells Axios.
- The company declined to provide the number of cameras or agencies using its technology in Michigan.
Zoom in: The debate is playing out across Metro Detroit.
- Westland is allowing its contract for 10 Flock cameras to expire following privacy concerns and a divided City Council.
- Ferndale ended its relationship with Flock last year after community concerns, although police have considered replacing the cameras with technology from Axon.
- A Flock camera pointed at the entrance to Jars Cannabis in Madison Heights was removed this month after the business protested it with a "No Flock Zone" sign.
- The backlash has also turned destructive: Flock cameras have been damaged or disabled in Birmingham, Novi, Pontiac, Waterford and West Bloomfield, FOX 2 reports.
What they're saying: Grassroots opposition has "absolutely been exploding" over the past three to six months, ACLU of Michigan legislative director Kyle Zawacki tells Axios.
- "This is not a conservative issue. This is not a liberal issue. This is not a progressive issue," Zawacki said.
The other side: Flock spokesperson Melanie Diez tells Axios the company takes concerns about safeguards seriously.
- Flock recently recommended cutting its default data-retention period from 30 days to seven and says it will require new accountability features by year's end to flag unusual searches and document the reason for each search.
- Agencies own and control their camera data and decide whether to share it with other agencies, Diez said.
What's next: Bipartisan legislation pending in the Michigan House would establish statewide rules governing how license plate readers can be used, how long data can be retained and what information agencies must publicly disclose.