Following abuse allegations, DC Council member demands answers on Flock cameras – WTOP News
D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto is seeking answers from D.C.’s police department about its use of Flock license plate reader technology, citing concerns about potential misuse and questions about the safeguards governing the system.
In a letter that was posted to X on Monday, Pinto asked the D.C. police department 10 questions about the automated license plate reader system and requested a response by the end of business day Thursday.
Her inquiry comes after the president of the D.C. Police Union alleged last week that department managers were accessing the system for noncriminal investigations, a practice the union said violates department policy and Flock’s user agreement.
One of Pinto’s questions asks about those allegations and the department’s justification for using the technology in that way.
“There are lots of positive benefits that these advancements of technology can create, but we also need to make sure that we are having safeguards in place within our law enforcement to ensure that there is not a mechanism for officers, for instance, to look up unrelated cases that might have no bearing on a criminal investigation, but that they’re interested in,” Pinto told WTOP.
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According to the Flock’s website, the cameras “take high-resolution still images of passing cars, recording license plates, make, model, color, and unique features like bumper stickers or roof racks.”
Pinto, who represents Ward 2 and chairs the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, said there has been growing public interest in how the technology is used and what safeguards are in place.
More recently, however, she said that “there has been a greater interest from the public around how these cameras are being used and what those safeguards are.”
“I think it’s really important that there is transparency to the public around all of these questions as they continue to evolve,” Pinto said.
She said the cameras can be valuable investigative tools.
“Coordination within the region on finding stolen cars, on finding missing persons, on making sure that we are not charging the wrong individual,” Pinto said.
But she said the technology must be used under strict policies designed to prevent misuse.
D.C. police recently completed an audit of its use of Flock’s license plate reader technology, and Pinto is also seeking details about the findings.
“Was there any misuse found? And what is our follow up because an audit is a great step but we have to follow up on those results to ensure that everybody in the public is being protected,” she said.
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