Every time someone drives in or out of Morgan Hill, an automated camera takes a swift snapshot of the license plate. A web of 50 cameras form a virtual net around the city, and their use has been accompanied by a string of arrests and a marked drop in some property crimes, according to the South Bay city’s police department.
Morgan Hill was among the first cities in the Bay Area to adopt such a complex network of license plate readers, and — according to statistics provided by the police department — it’s among the most successful. But as the technology is set to spread through the region, privacy experts worry that the cameras also function as a surveillance system hiding in plain sight, even as the threat they pose goes under the radar.
The police department’s interest in the license plate readers began in 2020 after a suspect fired fatal shots from one vehicle into another. When the department couldn’t immediately find the shooter, they began looking for tools that would help them track down vehicles associated with crime.
They settled on automated license plate readers that take a snapshot of a moving car, garnering information about the license plate number as well as the make, model and color. If the license plate matches that of a stolen car or a vehicle associated with a crime or Amber Alert, the department is automatically notified and, after verifying the alert, can take action to apprehend the suspect.
In August 2021, the department started with 25 cameras as a pilot program. Later, it expanded to a stock of 50 covering the city’s entrances and exits, as well as the main roads.
Together with maintenance and data storage, the cameras cost $120,000 each year to maintain and are run by a Georgia company, Flock Safety.
Two years into the program, the police department…
Read the full article here
