Below is a curated listing of articles and news items that have been published on the topic of ALPR's and surveillance.
License-plate readers put abortion seekers at risk, lawmaker says
Brinda Patel
Automated license plate surveillance cameras, key to recent ICE arrests, are coming under increasing scrutiny by lawmakers and privacy advocates who say widespread digital networks are creating hoards of data to track motorists.
Once again, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is breaking the law by failing to share the full suite of data needed to evaluate the Bank Secrecy Act. And once again, what little data it did share painted a bad picture for those who think the financial surveillance has been effective. As it stands, FinCEN’s 2026 report is nothing to celebrate.
If the Bank Secrecy Act is new to you, this set of laws and regulations requires banks and other financial institutions to report customer transactions under certain circumstances. According to FinCEN, more than 28.7 million reports were filed in fiscal year 2025 (Table 1). That’s roughly 78,000 reports a day. And the vast majority of these reports are not filed because someone is suspected of terrorism or human trafficking. Rather, it’s because they used “too much” cash.
NJ Lawmakers Propose Guardrails to Limit License Plate Camera Data
Brinda Patel
TRENTON, NJ — Widespread networks of automated license plate surveillance cameras that create hoards of data used to track motorists are under increasing scrutiny by lawmakers and privacy advocates in the wake of their recent use in ICE arrests.
Lawmakers in New Jersey and 34 other states have proposed nearly 100 pieces of legislation regarding license-plate readers – many seeking to prohibit states from sharing or selling years’ worth of data that could be used to extensively track drivers, according to BillTrack50, a legislative tracking service.
City Learns Flock Accessed Cameras in Children's Gymnastics Room as a Sales Pitch Demo, Renews Contract Anyway
Jason Koebler
Residents of an Atlanta suburb have been rocked by the revelation that sales employees at Flock have been accessing sensitive cameras in the town to demonstrate the company’s surveillance technology to police departments around the country. The cameras accessed have included surveillance tech in a children’s gymnastics room, a playground, a school, a Jewish community center, and a pool.
Police Have Reportedly Used License Plate Readers to Stalk Romantic Interests at Least 26 Times in Recent Years
Christopher Ingraham | Institute for Justice
Across the United States, communities are rethinking their use of Flock cameras and other automated license plate reader (ALPR) systems, and in many cases ending them completely. Concerns about privacy, security, and always-on government surveillance are driving these changes, especially as new police technologies test the limits of the Fourth Amendment.
The proliferation of police surveillance has led to repeated abuse. One shockingly common form: police officers using ALPR camera networks to keep tabs on their romantic interests, including current partners, exes, and even strangers who unwittingly caught their eye in public.
The Troubling Personal Side of Public Surveillance
Jamiles Lartey | The Marshall Project
Law enforcement cameras are popping up everywhere, but many agencies have little safeguards to prevent abuse by individual officers.
On Wednesday, former Milwaukee police officer Josue Ayala pleaded not guilty to a misconduct charge accusing him of using the department’s Flock-branded Automated License Plate Reader system (ALPR) for personal reasons. He resigned from the department hours before his initial court appearance, according to local reporting.
Local police aid ICE by tapping school cameras amid Trump’s immigration crackdown
Mark Keierleber of the 74 | The Guardian
Local police assisted federal immigration agents by repeatedly searching school cameras that record license plate numbers, data show
Police departments across the US are quietly leveraging school district security cameras to assist Donald Trump’s mass immigration enforcement campaign, an investigation by the 74 reveals.
Hundreds of thousands of audit logs spanning a month show police are searching a national database of automated license plate reader data, including from school cameras, for immigration-related investigations.
This Flock Camera Leak is like Netflix For Stalkers
Benn Jordan and 404 Media
Flock camera captured kids on a playground. A security failure exposed them online
Mikael Thalen | Straight Arrow
The technology company Flock Safety left at least 60 of its AI-powered surveillance cameras exposed online, raising questions about the technology's safety. Among the live images left exposed was footage of unattended children at a playground.
