1
00:00:03,937 --> 00:00:06,640
tonight, you've probably
driven past one but may not

2
00:00:06,707 --> 00:00:10,444
have noticed it. Automated
license plate readers or

3
00:00:10,511 --> 00:00:13,881
alpr cameras are small and
usually found near

4
00:00:13,947 --> 00:00:16,950
stoplights and street signs
on roads and intersections

5
00:00:17,017 --> 00:00:20,521
across the country. These
cameras have grown in

6
00:00:20,587 --> 00:00:23,023
popularity and in
controversy over recent

7
00:00:23,090 --> 00:00:25,192
years. Here and now
reporter Steven Potter

8
00:00:25,259 --> 00:00:29,296
looked into their use
around Wisconsin.

9
00:00:29,363 --> 00:00:32,866
>> There's nothing flashy
about Alpr cameras, and

10
00:00:32,933 --> 00:00:36,069
that's on purpose. These
automated license plate

11
00:00:36,136 --> 00:00:39,039
reading devices sit
inconspicuously, usually on

12
00:00:39,106 --> 00:00:42,376
a pole and under a solar
panel. They automatically

13
00:00:42,442 --> 00:00:44,845
read your license plate and
retain an image of your car

14
00:00:44,912 --> 00:00:47,981
with a date and a time
stamp of when you went past

15
00:00:48,048 --> 00:00:51,985
it. That information and
image is then sent off to

16
00:00:52,052 --> 00:00:54,888
the law enforcement agency
that contracted with the

17
00:00:54,955 --> 00:00:57,858
company that operates the
cameras. They're commonly

18
00:00:57,925 --> 00:01:01,028
called flock cameras, after
the most popular brand that

19
00:01:01,094 --> 00:01:03,897
makes and deploys the
devices according to groups

20
00:01:03,964 --> 00:01:07,734
that track them. There are
an estimated 130,000 such

21
00:01:07,801 --> 00:01:11,839
cameras in the United
States. In Wisconsin, it's

22
00:01:11,905 --> 00:01:14,541
estimated there are as many
as 2000 of the cameras used

23
00:01:14,608 --> 00:01:17,978
by more than 200 law
enforcement agencies. But

24
00:01:18,045 --> 00:01:20,347
over the last couple of
years, flock and other

25
00:01:20,414 --> 00:01:22,583
similar companies have been
catching flak from

26
00:01:22,649 --> 00:01:25,886
opponents concerned about
privacy, calling them tools

27
00:01:25,953 --> 00:01:28,989
of mass surveillance that
operate without a warrant.

28
00:01:29,056 --> 00:01:31,625
Critics say the cameras
invade an individual's

29
00:01:31,692 --> 00:01:34,695
privacy before and without
prior knowledge of any

30
00:01:34,761 --> 00:01:37,598
crime being committed.
Groups like the American

31
00:01:37,664 --> 00:01:40,734
Civil Liberties Union calls
the cameras creepy and says

32
00:01:40,801 --> 00:01:44,571
that the storage of images
and information in national

33
00:01:44,638 --> 00:01:47,441
databases lacks regulation.
Opposition to the cameras

34
00:01:47,508 --> 00:01:50,344
is showing up in Wisconsin,
with reports of them being

35
00:01:50,410 --> 00:01:53,614
vandalized and taken down.
And many governments around

36
00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:56,984
Wisconsin are taking action
against them. So far, Dane

37
00:01:57,050 --> 00:01:59,987
County, as well as cities
such as Fitchburg,

38
00:02:00,053 --> 00:02:02,856
Stoughton, Monona and
others, have stopped,

39
00:02:02,923 --> 00:02:05,526
canceled or not renewed
contracts with the Flock

40
00:02:05,592 --> 00:02:08,695
Safety Company. And in the
city of Verona, officials

41
00:02:08,762 --> 00:02:11,164
put bags over the flock
cameras after the company

42
00:02:11,231 --> 00:02:14,334
didn't move fast enough to
remove them. The largest

43
00:02:14,401 --> 00:02:17,304
user of flock cameras in
Wisconsin is the City of

44
00:02:17,371 --> 00:02:20,174
Milwaukee Police Department.
Cases of misuse of the

45
00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:22,910
technology by people with
access to the cameras are

46
00:02:22,976 --> 00:02:25,479
also cropping up. In
mid-August, a Menasha

47
00:02:25,546 --> 00:02:27,948
police officer was
sentenced for using flock

48
00:02:28,015 --> 00:02:30,884
cameras for illegal
surveillance, and two

49
00:02:30,951 --> 00:02:33,820
Milwaukee police officers
have been criminally

50
00:02:33,887 --> 00:02:36,790
charged with illegally
tracking people using the

51
00:02:36,857 --> 00:02:39,092
cameras. Those who are in
favor of these cameras and

52
00:02:39,159 --> 00:02:42,162
tracking devices say they
are an invaluable law

53
00:02:42,229 --> 00:02:44,898
enforcement tool that helps
apprehend those who commit

54
00:02:44,965 --> 00:02:48,268
crimes of all kinds,
ranging from driving

55
00:02:48,335 --> 00:02:51,605
infractions to car theft
and more serious offenses.

56
00:02:51,672 --> 00:02:56,577
The topic of flock and alpr
cameras came up in the most