KINGSTON – A number of municipalities in the region and around the country are canceling their contracts for license plate readers with the Flock brand company because their confidential investigatory information gathered by that technology is shared, often without their knowledge or consent.
The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office uses license plate reader technology but not with Flock and Sheriff Juan Figueroa said those LPRs have been around for some 20 years and are a vital component of police investigations.
“I can’t overstate or underline the importance of license plate readers. They have helped us in a homicide investigation a couple of years ago and also helped us local vehicles in hit-and-runs here in the county,” he said. “So, they are a super-important tool, and as far as long-term use, I have worked cases in the special investigations unit where we had robbery crews, burglary crews, bank robbery crews and you finally get a tip on a plate.”
Figueroa says as an accredited police agency, his office follows all of the state guidelines for use of LPRs. “Access can only happen for law enforcement purpose with a case number and the identification of the individual requesting the data,” he said, adding that “Sharing data with ICE or federal agencies is prohibited.”
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