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See the full story · 6 sourcesOne minute, you are driving to the grocery store. The next, a camera above the road photographs your car and adds the sighting to a searchable database. You probably will not hear a click or see a flash. In fact, you may never notice the camera mounted on a pole near the intersection.
Automated license plate readers have quietly spread across the country. As of our reporting, the open-source DeFlock map displayed about 119,000 readers across the United States. DeFlock is a community-powered project that maps reported camera locations using public submissions and data from OpenStreetMap. Because the map relies partly on crowdsourced information, it may miss some cameras or include locations that have changed.
Flock Safety cameras account for about 83% of the mapped total. California has the largest number of mapped readers, with more than 16,000. Major clusters appear around Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Police say the cameras help locate stolen cars and vehicles connected to serious crimes.
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However, privacy advocates warn that the same network can reveal where ordinary people travel throughout the day. Each sighting can include a vehicle's plate number, appearance, location and the time it passed the camera. Flock says its system can search by plate, vehicle type and visible features.
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Automated license plate readers, also known as ALPRs or LPRs, have become common tools for police departments . Businesses and homeowners associations can also install them. The rules can vary depending on who owns the camera and who gets access to the data.
The cameras often appear on poles near streets, intersections and neighborhood entrances. Some have solar panels attached to the pole. As a car passes, the camera takes a photograph. Software reads the license plate and turns the image into a searchable record. CyberGuy previously found that license plate cameras are also scanning vehicles at some Home Depot and Lowe's parking lots.
Flock Safety has become one of the largest vendors in this market. Its cameras connect to a cloud-based system where authorized customers can review vehicle sightings. Unlike red-light cameras, these readers generally focus on identifying vehicles. They typically do not issue traffic tickets. Still, every passing vehicle can enter the database. The driver does not need to face suspicion or have any connection to an investigation.
A reader begins with your license plate number. However, the record can include much more than the characters printed on the plate. The system records a vehicle's make and model. It can also note the color and body type.
Visible features may become searchable as well. These can include a roof rack, bumper sticker or missing hubcap. The record also includes the camera location and a timestamp. Together, those details show where the vehicle appeared and when it passed. Flock says its license plate reader system focuses on vehicles rather than faces. The company also says its LPR cameras exclude facial recognition and biometric identification.
A single camera sighting may reveal little about your day. Several sightings can start to form a pattern. For example, a vehicle that appears near the same house each evening may reveal where someone lives. Another record could show a visit to a medical provider.
A license plate can also connect a car to information held by a state motor vehicle agency. That connection can help investigators identify the registered owner. Authorized personnel can search for a complete plate number. They may also search using a partial plate or vehicle description.
A department looking for a dark SUV with a roof rack could receive several possible matches. Investigators would then need to confirm which vehicle they want. That search ability can save time during an urgent case. Meanwhile, it also gives agencies access to information about drivers who have done nothing wrong.
California leads the country with more than 16,000 mapped readers, according to an analysis of DeFlock data. Florida followed with 7,169 cameras. Georgia had 7,046. Illinois had 5,822. The concentration becomes clearer when the figures are compared with road mileage. San Francisco County ranked third nationwide with 1,196 cameras per 1,000 road miles. Only New York County and Kings County ranked higher.
In Southern California, Orange County ranked No. 33 nationwide. It had 184 cameras per 1,000 road miles. Los Angeles County ranked No. 59 with 143 cameras per 1,000 miles.
However, DeFlock cannot provide a complete camera inventory. The open-source project relies on public reports and data from other sources. As a result, populated communities may have more markers because more people submit camera locations. Rural areas may appear less covered even when readers exist there. A missing marker cannot guarantee that a road has no camera. Likewise, some mapped locations may need updates after a camera moves or disappears.
Police departments can place license plates connected to stolen vehicles on a hotlist. They may also add cars linked to active investigations. When a camera detects a matching plate, the system can alert officers. That may help them locate a stolen car or find a missing person's vehicle. Investigators can also search earlier sightings. Those records may show where a vehicle appeared before or afte...
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