Peoria police use license plate cameras to find missing man as privacy debate grows
Peoria police credit Flock cameras for finding missing man
Automated license plate reader cameras helped officers track a missing 82-year-old man across several cities. Peoria police defend the system despite public privacy concerns. FOX 10's Megan Spector reports.
PEORIA, Ariz. - A growing debate over privacy and safety is prompting more Arizona cities to reexamine the use of Flock license plate reader cameras.
Local perspective:
In Peoria, where about 75 Flock cameras are deployed around the city, police are pointing to a recent success story to address concerns raised by critics.
An 82-year-old man, Joseph Brezina, is home safe after being reported missing, and Peoria police credit automated license plate reader technology with locating him.
"With the use of the real-time crime center, the technology we have in there and a great patrol team that was out in the field, made this possible to help this individual," said Commander Jason Tarrant of the Peoria Police Department.
When Brezina failed to arrive at a doctor's appointment on Monday, his wife called for help out of concern for his health conditions. Peoria's Real Time Crime Center entered his car into the license plate reader system, tracking the vehicle through Paradise Valley and Scottsdale before pinpointing it just outside Peoria.
Officers located Brezina safe but confused and nearly out of gas.
"Within about 2 hours and 30 minutes from the time we got the call, patrol officers were able to find that vehicle, stop it, get help to this individual who ended up going to the hospital to get some medical attention and reunite him with his family safely," Tarrant said.
A missing man was safely found using license plate readers, but Peoria residents plan to challenge city council over potential mass surveillance and data privacy issues.
Dig deeper:
Despite such outcomes, public trust in the technology has faced challenges across Arizona. Officers in both Chandler and Apache Junction recently resigned following allegations of misusing the system for personal reasons. Those incidents have led some Peoria residents to demand answers regarding mass surveillance and potential privacy violations.
"We did not consent for geolocation data points to be collected on us whenever we leave our homes," said Peoria resident Miranda Cade. "My problem is that the city can't even communicate or be transparent about the capabilities of this technology."
Peoria police state that guardrails and mandatory audits are in place to secure the technology.
"People can't just randomly run a plate in the Peoria Police Department," said Chief Thomas Intrieri of the Peoria Police Department. "We had Flock work with us directly, and they developed a portal for us where we have mandated data points that have to be entered before the system can even look for a plate."
However, Cade expressed lingering doubts about how the data is secured and managed.
"I can see the success stories, and I'm very proud of PD to be able to do that, but they have crossed a line with privacy controls, and they have not been transparent about how this data is handled at the city level, and we still don't understand at the vendor level," Cade said.
2 more Arizona communities drop Flock license plate cameras
Payson and Cottonwood have discontinued their use of Flock automated license plate reader cameras, joining a growing list of Arizona municipalities ending or pausing the technology.
What's next:
The Peoria City Council is scheduled to meet Tuesday night, where Cade plans to voice her concerns. Peoria police state they have had no conversations regarding ending their contract with Flock.