Warnock urges greater federal oversight of automatic license plate readers

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock is calling for federal guardrails around the use of automatic license plate readers, citing multiple cases of law enforcement misusing the cameras to stalk and harass U.S. citizens.

Warnock, a Democrat, is teaming up with U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican, to urge the U.S. Department of Justice to issue guidance on the subject. Earlier this week, the two sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche urging the department to issue guidelines for state and local law enforcement and disclose how much federal funding has gone toward purchasing license plate readers. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

GOP lawmakers call for more oversight of license plate cameras after string of misuses in Georgia

“We are deeply concerned about the misuse of ALPR systems and believe that appropriate safeguards are necessary to protect against unauthorized access and abuse,” the letter states. “We also want to ensure that funding of these technologies is paired with appropriate oversight to ensure that the funding is not used to facilitate such abuse.”

Automatic license plate readers, such as the ones made by Atlanta-based Flock, work by capturing license plate data, along with other information like a car’s make and color, and storing that information in a searchable database. Law enforcement agencies that contract with Flock can use the database to track down stolen vehicles, locate missing people and solve other crimes.

But the cameras have also drawn controversy after a number of law enforcement officials across the country have been found searching the databases for personal uses. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, at least 19 people who work in law enforcement or emergency services have been arrested and charged this year for misusing a state law that restricts use of the cameras to only official law enforcement purposes. 

Flock did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Right now, there are no federal policies to punish or even track when one of the 140,000 law enforcement officers across the country with access to license plate tracking data misuses that information,” Warnock said in a press conference Wednesday. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen dozens of cases of women being stalked by ex-boyfriends or husbands who have been given unrestrained access as law enforcement officers to this surveillance technology.”

Last month, two Republican members of the Georgia Senate called for greater oversight over the cameras, with Roswell Republican Sen. John Albers announcing plans to collaborate with law enforcement associations to address misuse of the technology. 

Warnock condemned the lack of national guidance, noting that many municipalities have purchased license plate readers with federal funds. In the absence of clear guidelines, he said, state and local governments are left with a “patchwork system” that undermines public trust in the technology.

“The technology can’t be trusted to manage itself,” he said. “And right now there are no guardrails at all.”