How rogue officers turned a nationwide camera network into a tool for stalking
The Washington Post analysed police and court records and found at least 50 law enforcement officers charged with or accused of misusing licence plate reader systems. Flock's system was involved in 46 of the 50. In 26 of those cases, investigators and prosecutors said officers used the technology to track wives, girlfriends, ex-partners, their exes' new partners, or women they wanted to meet. In one case the Post details, a Georgia police chief is alleged to have searched a woman's plate and her teenage daughter's roughly 600 times, according to audit logs compiled by the Have I Been Flocked project. In Wisconsin, an officer allegedly used the system to check whether his ex-girlfriend had visited an abortion clinic. This is the single most important entry on this desk, because it converts a question about what the system could be used for into a count of what it already has been.
From the reporting
- At least 50 officers nationally have been charged with or accused of misusing plate reader technology.
- Flock's system was used in 46 of the 50 cases; the remainder involved Axon and Motorola products.
- In 26 cases, the alleged target was a wife, girlfriend, ex-partner, an ex's new partner, or a woman the officer wanted to meet.
- A police chief in Braselton, Georgia is alleged to have run a woman's plate and her teenage daughter's about 600 times, per audit logs from the Have I Been Flocked project.
- A Wisconsin officer allegedly checked whether his ex-girlfriend had visited an abortion clinic.
- Accusations and charges, not convictions. The Post's own framing is that these are cases brought or alleged, and several remain unresolved.
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