By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Sierra Vista and South Tucson both ended contracts for automated license plate readers after residents raised concerns about surveillance and data privacy.
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In Sierra Vista, the city accepted a grant last year from the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs for Flock cameras, the most common license plate readers.
Police Chief Chris Hiser said the cameras arrived as a nationwide debate about the technology was starting to peak.
“By the time they showed up was about the time this nationwide debate was starting to peak and then they’re showing up here, so people reaching out to me, out to the council saying, we don’t like this,” Hiser said.
How the cameras work
The cameras record license plates, vehicle color, make, model and details like stickers or bike racks. Flock does not incorporate facial recognition.
Data stays in the cloud for 30 days, then is permanently deleted unless it’s being used in an investigation.
Public concern centered on the potential for surveillance or leaked private information. The Sierra Vista City Council and police department responded to the feedback.
“The council gave the direction – ‘we want you to end the contract,’ Which I completely respect. They’re almost all gone now,” Hiser said.
Two out of 16 cameras remain in Sierra Vista. Both are turned off and should be picked up by Flock this month.
Law enforcement use and concerns
Flock advertises that 15 percent of reported crime in the U.S. is solved using its cameras, with almost 3,000 crimes solved each day in 6,000 communities. In southern Arizona, law enforcement says license plate readers have helped crack drug smuggling, kidnapping, sex offender and murder cases.
Hiser says they rose in popularity when Southern Arizona was seeing a surge in dangerous high-speed pursuits. License plate readers create a “hot list” of vehicles that are potentially stolen or linked to a missing person. Still, he said he is not rushing to replace the cameras.
“I really believe these are an important tool if used correctly, if supervised correctly, and also the data is secured,” Hiser said. “If we revisit this down the road, it would probably just be a few license plate readers and we would really dive into things like data privacy and security.”
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Sierra Vista will be watching closely as Cochise County, which also blocked Flock cameras this year, looks for a platform that balances public trust.
Arian Chavez, a University of Arizona student, wants to see all Flock cameras come down, including more than 60 at the university.
“Does that feel like a win to you that a place like Sierra Vista listened?” Chavez was asked. “Absolutely, it should be taken as a win, but also as an example of our people power.”
Chavez said the money “could be used to better our lives instead of spying on us.”
He referred to reported incidents of unauthorized data sharing with federal agencies and third parties, and public exposure of feeds online.
Flock says recorded images do not violate privacy rights because all of the information is in plain sight.
According to Flock, federal agencies don’t have access without a department’s approval.
Flock spokeswoman Lily Hoe said in a statement, “Back door access does not exist. Customers have complete control over sharing and Flock never shares data without their permission. Collaboration with federal agencies is the customer’s choice.”
South Tucson also ended its contract with Flock after community pushback.
More than 200 automated license plate readers are in the Tucson metro area, according to data collected by “Deflock,” a grass roots organization working to stop license plate reader use by law enforcement. Arizona has no specific laws regulating them. The Tucson Police Department uses Verkada and Axon readers, not Flock, and says it does not share information with ICE Enforcement and Removal operations.
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