The ACLU of Rhode Island reacted to Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee’s announcement ordering a “pause on installing and activating any new automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras.” The governor also ordered, “a comprehensive 60-day review to establish uniform statewide standards governing the use of the technology and the data it collects.” Coincidentally, the Governor’s order comes during a National Week of Action Against ALPRs courtesy of DeFlock, a national anti-ALPR advocacy group.
The order comes as town councils across the state debate the efficacy of ALPRs (including Flock Systems, an ALPR brand name) and their potential for civil rights violations and abuse. So far, South Kingstown, Narragansett, Glocester, and North Kingstown have voted to terminate their ALPR contracts. In addition, other communities have faced fierce public opposition (Tiverton), questions about the approval process (Tiverton and Smithfield), or potential future cancellation votes.
Nationally, the Institute for Justice has issued a report detailing more than 140 documented cases of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) abuse, including an incident in Cumberland, RI, that resulted in a lawsuit. Other abuses detailed in the report include:
In Florida, a woman was stalked and pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy who saw her at a TV shoot.
In Texas, a sheriff’s deputy used 83,000 Flock ALPRs to find a woman who had allegedly had a medication abortion, at the behest of her abusive partner.
In Georgia, a police chief tracked his ex-girlfriend and her teenage daughter roughly 600 times.
The ACLU of Rhode Island applauds Governor Daniel McKee for recognizing the serious privacy implications of using automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras in our communities, for temporarily pausing State Police camera installations, and for asking municipalities to do the same. In the meantime, the ACLU will continue to call on cities and towns that have these systems to cancel their contracts with Flock Safety.
We note that legislation regulating this technology has been introduced for several years in a row. Passage of this legislation would have provided clear, strict standards for the installation and operation of ALPRs in Rhode Island, as well as strict guidelines for sharing the potentially sensitive data these systems generate. Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies strongly opposed this legislation, and it failed to pass. We believe the bill should serve as a template for a strong, uniform interim policy until it can be passed next legislative session.
In anticipation of the passage of strong legislation, we hope that any statewide policy drafted by the stakeholders identified by the Governor includes the solicitation of, and attention to, broad public input. It should not rely only on voices already in favor of or using this technology.
In light of the many abuses of the Flock Safety ALPR system already documented across the country, safeguards must be as protective as possible to meaningfully safeguard Rhode Islanders’ privacy.
Governor Dan McKee today called for a statewide pause on installing and activating any new automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. He ordered a comprehensive 60-day review to establish uniform statewide standards governing the use of the technology and the data it collects. The Governor is also urging Rhode Island cities and towns to pause the installation of any new ALPR cameras during the review period.
“Automated license plate readers can be an important tool for law enforcement to solve crimes, recover stolen vehicles, and locate dangerous or missing individuals, but Rhode Islanders also have legitimate questions about privacy, transparency, and how this information is collected, stored, and shared,” said Governor McKee. “Public safety and personal privacy are not mutually exclusive. Rhode Island needs clear and consistent rules of the road for this technology. We are taking action now to pause further expansion, examine how these systems are being used across the state, and put strong, uniform safeguards in place to protect both public safety and personal privacy.”
Governor McKee is directing Colonel Darnell Weaver and the Department of Public Safety, in consultation with the Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association, the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, and other appropriate stakeholders, to conduct a comprehensive review of ALPR technology and provide recommendations within 60 days for uniform statewide standards and controls governing the use of ALPR cameras and the data they produce.
During the review, the Rhode Island State Police will not install or activate additional ALPR cameras. Existing State Police ALPR cameras may continue to operate subject to current Rhode Island State Police policies and safeguards during the pendency of the review.
The Governor will work with lawmakers when they return to session to advance legislation that codifies these protections and establishes clear, consistent standards for ALPR use statewide.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.