Why not invest in the LPR cameras and mount them, power them so they look like they are working. If a decoy is 50% or even 25% effective as a decoy, they pay for themselves over and over. Worth the chance they are effective.
Frankly, I don’t want Flock system or their cameras in my community or town. I don’t trust law enforcement to NOT use captured data AGAINST citizens. They will track your travel. There’s an old story of city in CA that had Flock based camera. The local PD, started tracking city council and city manager travel. Law enforcement used tracking data and intimidated a city council member into supporting bills and funds to benefit the PD. You think this was the idea of some lowly patrolman or someone like the Chief or Deputy?
Its already been exposed that Flock is in more than 5,000 cities across the country. That number is 2-3 years old now. Flock is considered a 'third party" collecting data about traffic, so cops can by pass (violate your 4th amendment civil rights) requirement by ignoring the constitution to obtain a search warrant, when they get the information from the third party. The unethical and as I see it, unconstitutional, anti-citizen angle is, the city/county is in cahoots and violating our rights, when they are using taxpayer’s money against the taxpayer to pay for these services, that are not benefiting taxpayers. Even worse, courts can’t stop it. The local PD/SO is required to sign a NDA to not discuss the workings of Flock. The NDA restricts law enforcement from detailing information about camera, traffic or Flock procedures/operations even in court. Because they are third party, Discovery is denied, as the PD/SO/City doesn’t own the data and restricted from providing it before the contract is signed. Making it worse, Flock shares owner/car data such as tickets, travel, restrictions, citations with not only the PD/SO that they have the local contract, they are sharing other cities data with PD/SO. And Flock encourages access to the databases that PD/SOs have access to.
If that is not bad enough. Ever been stopped by law enforcement for a citation? Did they ask for your phone number? You do know, of course, its your cell phone number they seek. Cell carriers are willingly sharing cell tower, cell phone data with law enforcement without search warrants. They can locate you, ping your phone, whenever they choose to.
A third party company (can’t remember their name) contracts with local PD/SOs for a product called Stingray. Stingray allows law enforcement to stand up a virtual cell phone tower and collect citizens travels and store the data. They don’t need the carriers data. Law enforcement can collect cell phone data locations live, bounce it off unpaid citation database and bench warrant data. When it pops up a “citizen/criminal” that has not paid his ticket, they can dispatch a close Road Pirate to stop and arrest with the option to catch and release if they have a credit card to pay on demand. The PD/SO don’t even pay a fee to get access to the software. They just give a cut of the fine to Stingray’s owners.
You realize, we don’t know how any of this collected data will be used in the future? Who will have access to it? You think it will be used to protect you? We don’t even have protection from the police, you think we will be protected later? Don’t forget, courts have ruled that law enforcement has not responsiblity to protect citizens. NONE. City of Castle Rock v. Gonzales. Warren v District of Columbia.
