<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=13ZbzP_1Gta0t9N00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=13ZbzP_1Gta0t9N00" width="1024" height="576" ><figcaption>Flock Camera Image Courtesy Flock</figcaption></figure>North Carolina now has more than 3,600 automated license plate readers on public roads, at neighborhood entrances, and along state highways. Flock Safety supplies roughly 80% to 85% of them, according to the Daily Tar Heel. The state recently made its pilot program permanent.Under the law, the State Bureau of Investigation and local police can set up AI-powered readers on any state-maintained road or highway right-of-way. Those roads make up 78% of the state's roadways. During the pilot, 12 police departments, 19 sheriffs' offices, and the State Highway Patrol used the systems.Agencies may keep the data for up to 90 days. Only law enforcement can run the systems, and only for specified purposes, including criminal investigations, recovering stolen vehicles, and locating missing persons. Each agency writes its own policy before turning a system on. The law does not establish uniform statewide rules for how agencies must implement and enforce their policies. Of the 32 agencies in the pilot, only Asheville and Raleigh police address the readers at political rallies, religious gatherings, or protests, according to records WRAL obtained.Flock cameras record each car's make, model, color, and plate number. They also pick up small details, such as bike racks or bumper stickers. Agencies can choose to share data with other departments. Flock says its cameras have aided 1 million police investigations across the country and helped find about 10,000 missing persons in 2025.Tom Bowman, policy counsel for security and surveillance at the Center for Democracy &amp; Technology, said that when many readers feed one database, police can piece together a person's movements over time. "The ALPR system doesn't get tired, and so by documenting the location of a vehicle at specific times, police can reconstruct elements of a person's entire life," Bowman said, per the Daily Tar Heel.The Institute for Justice has tracked more than 200 cases of misuse nationwide. One happened in North Carolina. A former Brunswick County deputy was arrested after being accused of misusing a system, and the sheriff's office then rewrote its Flock policy.The systems also make errors. A police analysis in Roseville, California, found that 71% of 1,427 stolen or felony vehicle alerts from Flock in 2023 and 2024 came from misread plates.Some towns are pushing back. Atkinson, in Pender County, passed the state's first automated license plate reader ban. Hillsborough and Pittsboro have voted to end part or all of their vendor contracts.In August, Flock said it would make several optional safeguards mandatory by the end of the year. These include case codes for searches, an Audit Assistance tool, and lockouts when activity looks unusual. The default retention period will fall from 30 days to seven.The UNC System adopted its own policy, which takes effect Dec. 1, 2026. It calls for regular inspections and limits data storage to 30 days.The courts are weighing in too. A case from Norfolk, Virginia, is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. A federal district court ruled in January that the city's system does not violate the Fourth Amendment. Michael Soyfer, an Institute for Justice attorney for the residents, said the U.S. Supreme Court has since strengthened the legal basis for their argument, per the Daily Tar Heel.</div></body>

Block Source: wkml.com

Misinformation

Clickbait

Old or repetitive news

Explicit content

Location not relevant

North Carolina now has more than 3,600 automated license plate readers on public roads, at neighborhood entrances, and along state highways. Flock Safety supplies roughly 80% to 85% of them, according to the Daily Tar Heel. The state recently made its pilot program permanent. Under the law, the State Bureau...

North Carolina Expands License Plate Camera Network as Privacy Concerns and Court Challenges Grow

NewsBreak

North Carolina now has more than 3,600 automated license plate readers on public roads, at neighborhood entrances, and along state highways. Flock Safety s

North Carolina Expands License Plate Camera Network as Privacy Concerns and Court Challenges Grow

Comments