I think the "private company monitoring public land" thing is an argument that carries a lot of …
… I think the "private company monitoring public land" thing is an argument that carries a lot of weight on Twitter and HN, but my experience in (our own specific) local politics is that it's a good way to get people to look at you like a Martian.
One of the Flock cameras was installed in my city nearby where I live. Once I noticed it, I thought it was a red light camera at first since it was near an intersection.
I did some research on them and found that they are completely wireless (cellular network most of the time) and powered by a 65w solar panel. Since they capture every license plate that passes by, I wasn't thrilled it was a private company keeping the data, even if they say they only keep it for 30 days.
I did a FOIA request with my city to see how many are in use and their locations to share with my community. I also plan on asking why my city thinks it is a good use of tax dollars. I think it should be a requirement for cities to disclose their use since it is a private company installing private equipment (and a camera at that!) on public land to monitor the public.
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> The data it collects is shareable only, and with consent, to other law enforcement agencies.
> It records make/model/color/plate, but no other direct identifying information. Assume for the moment that it all works as advertised, and it's on paper a weird capability to push back on your local police having.
Ex Flock employee here... the first part may have changed, but private organizations (HOAs, mostly) can also have Flock deployments, and are not subject to the same sharing restrictions.
Also, image recognition does a lot more, it can identify vehicles by mismatched panel colors, roof racks, trailer hitches, bumper stickers and other factors, too.
Can data be reviewed retroactively to track someone that wasn't a suspect at the time the image was captured. E.g., "we now suspect john doe was involved in a series pf bank robberies. Tell me everywhere his car allowed up in the last 30 days."