What The Tech: How to know if police searched for your license plate
BY JAMEY TUCKER, Consumer Tech Reporter
Flock cameras have become a common sight along busy streets, intersections, parking lots and other public spaces. They are automated license plate readers used by police departments and other agencies. As vehicles pass, the cameras can capture a license plate along with details about the vehicle, including its make, model and color.
When information from multiple cameras is combined, someone searching for a particular plate may be able to see where that vehicle has been spotted.
That has made Flock cameras a useful tool for law enforcement, but it has also raised privacy concerns about who can search the information and how it is being used.
Now there is a website that lets drivers check whether their own license plate appears in records showing someone searched for it.
The website is called HaveIBeenFlocked.com.
Users enter a license plate number and state, and the website searches through records obtained from government agencies through public records requests.
If your plate appears in the database, the results may show when it was searched, which agency conducted the search and the reason that was entered for looking it up.
The website is independent of Flock Safety and was created by people concerned about the growing use of automated license plate-reader networks.
Many of the searches in the database involve police investigations ranging from traffic violations to more serious crimes.
Police departments say Flock cameras can help officers quickly locate stolen vehicles, suspects and missing people. Privacy advocates argue that networks of thousands of license plate readers can create a searchable record showing where vehicles have traveled.
No result does not necessarily mean your plate was never searched
There is an important limitation to Have I Been Flocked.
The website does not have access to every Flock search conducted nationwide. Its information comes from public records requests submitted to individual agencies. That also means there can be a delay of several weeks before newer records appear on the website. So if you search your license plate and get no results, that does not necessarily mean your plate has never been searched.
Flock cameras are designed to help police find vehicles they are looking for.
Have I Been Flocked gives drivers a chance to find out whether someone may have been looking for theirs.
