Key facts
- Dayton, Ohio, city workers are covering automated license plate readers (ALPRs) with trash bags.
- The city suspended Flock Safety cameras due to concerns over data being used for immigration enforcement.
- Over 7,000 cases of searches related to immigration enforcement by outside entities were found.
- Dayton appropriated $30,000 for an audit of Flock camera data logs.
- All 72 of the city's fixed-site ALPR cameras have been covered and are inactive.
City workers in Dayton, Ohio, are covering automated license plate readers (ALPRs) with trash bags, rendering them inoperable. This action follows the suspension of Flock Safety cameras due to concerns that the system's data was being used for immigration enforcement, which city officials deemed 'egregious violations of policy.' The Dayton Police Department discovered over 7,000 instances of searches related to immigration enforcement by external entities. The city has appropriated $30,000 for an audit of the camera data logs, and all 72 fixed-site ALPR cameras are now covered and inactive. Similar privacy concerns and unauthorized data access issues have led to camera suspensions in Evanston, Illinois, and Oxnard, California. Flock Safety denies having direct contracts with federal immigration agencies but acknowledges data access can depend on local laws. Privacy advocates warn that ALPR data can be accessed by immigration agencies through 'side-door handshakes,' raising widespread surveillance concerns. Despite potential benefits for Amber Alerts or missing persons, advocates suggest the risks currently outweigh the benefits without sensible guardrails.