Full transcript
much of next week. And a few
more showers next Friday. All
right. Dominic, thank you. It
is a technology known as Alpr.
It was created by FLoC
Technology, and it's a system
of cameras that allow police to
track the license plates of
those passing cars. Pretty
interesting here. So it works
with artificial intelligence,
and it basically just collects
data in order to help solve
crimes. NBC's NBC Boston's law
enforcement reporter Robert
Goulston is on it. He sat down
with the chief legal officer of
FLoC to learn more about the
use of this tech, Robert Colton
and Priscilla. As you can see
in this live shot, I am clearly
in the middle of Copley Square
in the middle of Boston. But
did you know that law
enforcement is actually using
technology to pinpoint your
location, depending on where
you're driving? The network of
cameras works together,
tracking vehicles passing by
the automated license plate
reader cameras take a
photograph of every car that
passes them. Flock Safety Chief
Legal Officer Dan Healey says
what is collected typically
sits on a server for about 30
days and is searchable by
police departments who are
contracted to use the system.
It helps the officers to
develop leads much quicker and
to hone in on the likely
perpetrator based on location.
Hawley explains the police
department using the system
dictates who can access it,
including federal agencies like
Ice. Our clients control access
to their data, so if a city
wishes to keep its data
contained within its borders
and not allow any outside
agencies to access that data,
they are able to do that within
the system. The ACLU of
Massachusetts has been closely
monitoring the technology and
told us in a written statement
this data sharing sidesteps
local democratic control,
exposes our sensitive driving
records to hostile actors, and
undermines the effectiveness of
our shield law, which aims to
protect people from politically
motivated harassment and
prosecution. As we all know,
technology tracks our every
move. For example, my credit
card shows that I opened this
door and when I'm inside the
ATM, this camera shows it's me.
There's nobody sitting there
and overseeing that data in
real time. Former Newton and
Walpole police chief John
Carmichael says technology is
crucial in modern policing.
Very effective tool. I mean, a
missing person, an Amber alert,
you know, somebody with
dementia or Alzheimer's that's
out there traveling. This
information can be added into
the system so that if that
vehicle passes by, law
enforcement is going to be
alerted. And we should point
out that private companies like
a shopping mall or an apartment
complex, can also use FLoC and
then opt in to allow law
enforcement to view