Ferndale police consider adding Flock license plate reader cameras to city
FERNDALE, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Ferndale Police Department is holding a public information session next week about Flock Safety license plate readers.
Join the Zoom community meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 25 to learn more about the readers.
Ferndale is the latest city to consider adding the technology that police credit with helping solve crimes, such as armed robberies, vehicle thefts, and kidnappings. Other cities that have implemented the readers have said they do not use them to enforce traffic violations.
Read: Farmington Hills to add License Plate Recognition system
The cameras create a database of cars that pass them. They only capture license plates and vehicle characteristics, not people or faces, and data is only stored for 30 days, according to the company.
Zoom meeting details will be posted here.
Last fall, Warren police praised its Flock readers for helping them solve rapes, murders, and other violent crimes.
Despite the reassurances that the cameras don't capture faces, the technology has led to some stereotyping fears, worries about how data is being stored, and concerns about the surveillance of innocent people.
Worries about reader misuse even led to the American Civil Liberties Union proposing guidelines that law enforcement agencies should follow if they choose to implement the technology.