Flock cameras are a type of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and is used by law enforcement for various purposes. Flock cameras are often used to monitor vehicle movements, and data from these cameras may be introduced as evidence in a criminal case.
Flock cameras may be used to track the movements of vehicles, provide real-time alerts about a vehicle’s location, and create a searchable database of vehicles. These cameras may provide evidence in criminal cases. While law enforcement may hail the use of Flock cameras, they are not without flaws. They are known to misread license plates and provide inaccurate information, and there are serious privacy concerns regarding the extent of law enforcement’s surveillance abilities.
Get a free initial case evaluation by calling our Norristown, PA criminal defense lawyers at Kenny, Burns & McGill at (215) 774-5644.
How Does Law Enforcement Use Flock Cameras?
Flock cameras may be installed in a town or city to create a network of AI-enabled cameras that track vehicles by license plate numbers and identifying marks, such as color, scratches, dents, and other observable details.
Tracking Vehicle Movements
Flock cameras are commonly used by the authorities to track the movements of specific vehicles. If a person is under criminal investigation, the police may track the suspect’s vehicle using Flock cameras.
Any time a suspect’s vehicle is spotted on the road by a Flock camera, the police may be alerted and can track its location in real time.
Real-Time Alerts
If the authorities want to locate a particular person or suspect in a criminal investigation, they may use Flock cameras to do so. Once a Flock camera spots a suspect’s or person of interest’s vehicle, the police may receive an alert in real time. They can then quickly find the vehicle’s driver.
Searchable Database
The information gathered by Flock cameras may be used to create searchable databases of vehicle information. Flock cameras may create a database of cameras within a town or city, in addition to larger nationwide networks.
The police may enter details about your vehicle, such as a license plate number, into the database to see whether Flock cameras have spotted the car. This information may be used to track down criminal suspects, even if they are outside the state.
How Flock Cameras May Be Used as Evidence in a Pennsylvania Criminal Case
Data from flock cameras may be entered into evidence in a criminal trial. Even so, this evidence may not be infallible, and we should challenge it.
Locating Stolen Vehicles
Flock cameras are often used as evidence in cases involving stolen vehicles. Once a car is reported stolen, the police may use its plate number to locate it in databases created by Flock cameras. They may be able to determine the approximate location of a stolen car and try to find the person who stole it.
Creating a Timeline of Events
In other cases, the police may use information from Flock cameras to establish a timeline of events based on a suspect’s movements. Flock cameras may record footage of a vehicle in different areas at specific times, allowing the authorities to establish a timeline of the suspect’s movements.
Tracking Defendants’ Movements
A key part of how Flock cameras work is that they may establish that a vehicle was at a specific location at a specific time. Multiple cameras may be used to establish a vehicle’s location at many different points in time.
The police may look for patterns and track a vehicle’s movements. Is the vehicle often at or near the scene of criminal activity? Can the vehicle’s location at the time of a crime be ascertained? This kind of information may be used as evidence in a criminal trial.
Can You Challenge the Use of Flock Cameras as Evidence?
The technology behind Flock cameras and similar ALPRs is relatively new and far from perfect. There may be multiple ways your attorney can challenge the accuracy or relevance of Flock camera evidence.
Misread Licenses
Flock cameras are powered by AI, which is known for making mistakes. The program used to read plate numbers may misread a plate number, thereby completely misidentifying a vehicle.
Our Bucks County, PA criminal defense lawyers should always check your plate numbers against the Flock camera data to determine if any errors occurred. Your vehicle may have been misidentified as being part of a crime.
Privacy Concerns
While some courts have ruled that tracking vehicles does not violate the Fourth Amendment if the vehicles are on public roads and highways, not everyone in the legal field agrees. Multiple lawsuits are pending on this issue.
Flock camera data may be shared among law enforcement agencies across the country. When authorities share this kind of data, it may be considered a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Due Process Issues
Flock cameras are enabled by AI programs, and data is generally not compiled by an actual person. This raises some serious questions about due process. How can we cross-examine data gathered by AI? Is the data even reliable enough to admit into evidence?
Flock cameras might not be admissible in court in all circumstances, and we should challenge any Flock camera evidence that appears questionable.
Can The Police Use Flock Cameras as Evidence Against a Defendant?
Yes. If the data from Flock cameras adheres to the Louisiana Rules of Evidence, it may be admissible as evidence in a criminal trial. However, the technology behind these cameras is still very new, and many in the legal field believe Flock cameras raise serious questions about privacy and Fourth Amendment violations.
Do Flock Cameras Violate the Fourth Amendment?
Some federal courts have ruled that the use of Flock cameras on public roads does not violate the Fourth Amendment, because license plates and other observable information captured by these cameras are intended to be publicly displayed.
Even so, the way law enforcement uses this technology has come under fire, and some in the legal field believe there are serious privacy concerns about how agencies share Flock camera information.
How to Fight the Use of Flock Cameras in a Pennsylvania Criminal Case
Flock cameras are not perfect and may miss important details. They are known to misread license plate numbers and misidentify vehicles. We may also argue that sharing information from Flock cameras between law enforcement constitutes a Fourth Amendment violation.
How Do You Know if Prosecutors Have Flock Camera Evidence?
Since Flock cameras are controlled by law enforcement, we may not know whether this evidence exists until we obtain it for ourselves during the discovery phase. If we believe that Flock camera data exists that the authorities have not shared with us, we may request the production of this evidence.
Talk to Our Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Attorneys About Evidence in Your Case
Get a free initial case evaluation by calling our Wayne, PA criminal defense lawyers at Kenny, Burns & McGill at (215) 774-5644.
