500 Surveillance Cameras Are Tracking Drivers in This City
The short version: Institute for Justice spotlights three San Jose residents suing over a city-wide, 500-camera ALPR dragnet that logs every driver's movements for 30 days.
Our Take
Institute for Justice puts faces on a problem we harp on constantly: when you build a 500-camera net to catch a few bad guys, you end up with a permanent movement log on everyone else. Tony Tan, Scott West, and Colin Wolfson have never been suspected of anything, yet San Jose's ALPR system has quietly been cataloging their daily lives right alongside everyone else's. That's not targeted policing — that's mass surveillance with a badge.
The part that should bother you most is the access question. It's not just that the cameras exist, it's that "any officer" can pull up a month of someone's driving history with no warrant and often no real oversight. That's the kind of unchecked power that invites abuse — stalking, political targeting, selling data, you name it — and history shows departments rarely police themselves well enough to prevent it. Credit to IJ for taking this fight to court instead of just complaining about it.
San Jose is hardly alone. Check our camera map to see how far this has spread in your own backyard, and if you're ready to push back locally, our take-action page has the tools to get started.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Institute for Justice, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.