How Triangle cities differ on license plate reader cameras
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
If you were to drive your car across the Triangle today, your license plate could pass dozens of automated license plate readers.
- Each city you drive through, however, could have a significantly different relationship to the technology.
Why it matters: Automated license plate reader cameras are popping up in more and more places, and while the technology has been helpful in solving crimes, more residents are raising concerns about mass surveillance and privacy violations, Axios has reported.
- This rising concern is playing out across the Triangle, especially in smaller towns like Hillsborough and Pittsboro, where public backlash led to contracts with Flock, the most prominent of the ALPR companies, being canceled.
State of play: Even when a city or a law enforcement agency doesn't have a contract, the technology is becoming increasingly hard to escape.
- That's especially true as more businesses, including Lowe's and Home Depot, homeowners associations and the State Bureau of Investigation add cameras to parking lots, neighborhood entrances and state highways.
- Curious to see where ALPR cameras are in your city? You can check the community-driven map made on Deflock.org.
Between the lines: Law enforcement agencies without Flock contracts can request the data anyway. Some in the Triangle do.
- "A police department that is not a Flock customer who is friendly with a police department who is [a Flock customer] can always call them up and say, 'Hey, can you run a Flock search for me?'" American Civil Liberties Union policy counsel Chad Marlow tells Axios.
- "It happens all the time," including with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Marlow adds.
Zoom in: Triangle communities have taken different approaches to Flock:
- Raleigh: A spokesperson for the Raleigh Police Department said it "uses this technology solely to support legitimate criminal investigations and public safety efforts." It deletes data after 30 days and prohibits access for immigration enforcement that doesn't have a criminal investigation tied to it.
- Durham: A spokesperson for the Durham Police Department said it does not operate any Flock cameras. It does, however, access data connected to privately owned Flock cameras to help with certain investigations, like stolen vehicles, homicides and missing people, according to a General Order from 2025.
- Cary: A spokesperson for the Cary Police Department said the town does not have a contract with Flock or operate any cameras. But it does have access to data from cameras from consenting private entities in town.
- Chapel Hill: Chapel Hill police do not have a contract with Flock or operate any cameras. The department will access cameras operated by UNC-Chapel Hill and private businesses for criminal investigations. The UNC Police Department installed 23 Flock cameras on campus after a campus shooting.
- Apex: Apex did not respond to a request for comment but the town has a contract with Flock for 10 cameras, according to INDY Week.
- Pittsboro: The town canceled its contract and involvement with Flock and removed nine cameras in May after pushback from residents.
- Hillsborough: Hillsborough similarly canceled a contract with Flock and removed cameras last year over data sharing concerns.
How it works: Flock and other automated license plate reader cameras are placed on streets and highways and use AI to capture and store information like license plates, vehicle make and other features. The cameras do not have facial recognition capabilities.
The other side: Jeff Caldwell, chief deputy of the Johnston County Sheriff's Office, which uses Flock, said the technology has been incredibly useful. He noted that a suspect for a 2021 murder in Johnston County, for example, was caught after fleeing the state, thanks to ALPR cameras.
- But he believes it's important to add guardrails and a paper trail for its usage. The Johnston County Sheriff's Office mandates that a case number be attached to every search it does.
- "Just like any other tool, can it be abused? Yes, there's there's potential there," he tells Axios. "[Deputies] have to understand that if they use it to run your tag for no legitimate reason, that's a violation" that can lead to firing or prosecution.
Friction point: Some residents have raised concerns about misuse of the technology, after some police officers across the country have been arrested or investigated for using it inappropriately.
- A Charlotte police officer was arrested in July for misusing Flock, and several Mooresville officers are under investigation for inappropriate uses of the data, the Charlotte Observer reported.
- In response to rising cases like that, Flock added more guardrails to its system in August.
What we're watching: How the growing level of concern from residents plays out at public meetings, especially as local law enforcement agencies continue to ask for more access to new technologies, like drones.