Police using databases to stalk: specific examples

Our Take

Mumford Law's rundown of officers abusing license plate readers and law enforcement databases to track women they were personally interested in isn't some rare glitch in the system — it's the system working exactly as designed, just pointed at the wrong target. 228 plate lookups on one woman. Deputies and officers in Ottawa, Sedgwick, and Joplin treating government surveillance infrastructure like a personal contacts app. The only reason we know about these cases is that someone eventually noticed and complained. Most victims never do, because they have no idea they're being watched.

This is the part Flock Safety and local police departments never want to put in the press release: every camera that logs your plate, every database that stores your movements, is only as trustworthy as the person with login credentials. There's no technology fix for an officer who decides to use his access to stalk an ex, a woman he pulled over, or someone he's just fixated on. Audits after the fact don't protect anyone — they just document the harm once it's already happened, sometimes for months or years.

If your town has Flock cameras up, this is exactly the risk you're accepting, whether anyone asked you or not. Check our camera map to see what's already watching your streets, and head to our take-action page if you want to push back at your next city council meeting.