Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office confirms use of Flock license plate reader cameras
Pictured: A Flock Camera located on HWY 55/11 South near the Rotary Dog Park in Lenoir County.
The Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office uses Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras along key roadways and travel corridors throughout the county, according to information provided by Capt. Christy M. Smith.
Smith, who serves in training and logistics for the sheriff’s office, provided the written response to questions about the agency’s automated license plate reader system.
“The system is used to support legitimate law enforcement purposes, including investigating crime, locating stolen vehicles, identifying vehicles connected to serious incidents, and helping locate missing or endangered persons,” Smith said in the written response.
The sheriff’s office said the cameras are installed in public-facing locations along key roadways and travel corridors throughout the county.
Pictured: A flock camera located on HWY 55/11 South near the Rotary Dog Park in Lenoir County.
Access to the data is limited to authorized law enforcement users and partner agencies approved under the sheriff’s office’s sharing settings and policy, according to the response. The sheriff’s office said it controls access to its system and can review audit logs showing who searched the system, when the search was conducted and the stated reason for the search.
Data collected by the cameras is retained for 30 days under the sheriff’s office’s policy. Flock Safety automatically deletes data after 30 days by default unless a different retention period is required by local policy or law, according to the response.
The cameras were purchased through federally seized funds. The annual cost is paid through the sheriff’s office budget, with the current annual cost listed at $48,000.
According to the sheriff’s office, Flock cameras capture license plate images and basic vehicle characteristics visible from public roadways. The agency said the cameras do not capture names, addresses, phone numbers, driver identity, biometric identifiers or DMV records.
“The system is provided by Flock Safety,” Smith said in the written response.
The sheriff’s office said data may be shared with authorized law enforcement agencies in accordance with agency policy and system permissions. The agency decides whether and how data is shared.
Flock Safety, in background information provided with the sheriff’s office response, says its license plate readers take a point-in-time image of the rear of vehicles on public roadways and do not continuously track vehicles. The company also says it does not use facial recognition technology and does not sell customer data.
According to Flock Safety, customers own the data collected by their license plate reader systems and determine whether to share that data with other law enforcement agencies.
Automated license plate reader systems have drawn public attention in communities across the country because of questions about privacy, data retention, law enforcement access and public oversight. The Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office said its system is used for law enforcement purposes and that access is controlled through agency policy and system permissions.
