Moore County commissioners will hold a special meeting Monday afternoon focused on the use of Flock license plate-reading cameras, a technology that has generated debate over its use by law enforcement in Moore County and across the country.
The meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Moore County Senior Enrichment Center in West End and is open to the public. The meeting was planned weeks ago in conjunction with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office to answer questions about the cameras and address concerns from residents. The meeting was later moved to a larger venue because of the expected community response.
The meeting comes just days after Flock cameras played a role in the investigation of a triple homicide in Pinebluff.
According to the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, information from the Flock camera network was used by investigators as they built their case against Demetrius Louis Aggelis, who is accused of killing three family members at a home in Pinebluff last week.
The Sheriff’s Office has pointed to the investigation as a recent example of how the technology can assist law enforcement. The case also comes as debate continues over the cameras, with concerns raised about privacy, oversight and the potential for misuse.
Flock cameras are automated license plate readers. The systems use cameras and software to capture license plates and other vehicle information that can later be searched by authorized law enforcement users.
North Carolina law places restrictions on the use of automated license plate readers by law enforcement. Agencies using the systems are required to have written policies addressing issues including data retention, sharing, training, supervisory oversight, security and auditing.
State law also requires data collected by law enforcement through an automated license plate reader system to be used for law enforcement purposes and prohibits its use for enforcing traffic violations. Captured plate data generally cannot be retained for more than 90 days, although the law provides certain exceptions. The data is considered confidential and is not a public record.
Critics of the technology have raised concerns about the ability of law enforcement agencies to search records showing where vehicles have been observed and the possibility that authorized access could be abused.
Those concerns have received increased attention following cases involving alleged misuse of Flock systems, including two involving North Carolina law enforcement officers.
In one case, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer was arrested in July and charged with illegally accessing a government computer. According to an arrest affidavit, investigators alleged that a target of a drug investigation asked the officer to look up a license plate belonging to a vehicle being used by an undercover officer.
In another case, a former Mooresville police officer was accused of accessing Flock camera data 31 times for personal reasons to obtain information about and track her boyfriend’s ex-wife. Mooresville police said the activity was discovered during an audit of the department’s license plate reader system. The former officer was charged with misdemeanor computer access.
The cases are among allegations of misuse that have prompted Flock Safety to announce changes to its system. The company announced this month that its default data retention period will be reduced from 30 days to seven days. Flock has also announced additional auditing requirements designed to identify unusual searches and other safeguards intended to prevent misuse.
The changes have not ended the debate surrounding the technology, with concerns continuing over privacy, access to collected information and oversight of the systems.
Monday’s meeting will give Moore County residents an opportunity to hear more about how Flock cameras are being used locally and raise questions about the technology, its law enforcement applications, privacy protections and oversight.
