Two senior Georgia Senate Republicans are pushing for new state oversight of automated license plate reader systems following documented misuse by law enforcement agencies.
Senator John Albers, a Roswell Republican who chairs the Senate public safety committee, said at a Tuesday press conference at the state Capitol that he is forming a task force with the Georgia Sheriffs' Association and the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police to address camera misuse. He left open the option of legislation next session. Senate President Pro Tempore Larry Walker, a Perry Republican, sent a letter to those same law enforcement groups citing recent allegations of improper use that resulted in stalking, misidentification, and unjustified arrests.
The cameras at issue are made largely by Atlanta-based Flock Safety. The company's systems capture plate data along with vehicle make and color and store the results in a searchable database used by contracted police agencies to recover stolen vehicles and locate missing people. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reports that at least 14 people have been arrested and charged this year for violating the state law limiting camera use to official law enforcement purposes.
Flock chief executive Garrett Langley has announced new controls, including cutting data retention from 30 days to seven, automatically suspending apparent misusers, and requiring officers to enter a case number or crime type before running a search. Christopher Bruce, deputy executive director of the ACLU of Georgia, said he doubts the voluntary measures go far enough and wants municipalities holding Flock contracts required to disclose how data is used and to report misuse. Flock says its technology operates in more than 6,000 communities across 49 states.
Source: Georgia Recorder - https://georgiarecorder.com/briefs/gop-lawmakers-call-for-more-oversight-of-license-plate-cameras-after-string-of-misuses-in-georgia/