What are ALPRs?
And why is there a growing movement against them that cuts through the polarized political landscape we live in?
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How are the Police Tracking You?
ALPRs or Automatic License Plate Readers are cameras that take pictures of every car that passes in front of them. Despite their name, they do a lot more than read license plates. They are cameras that live stream and upload their constant stream of data so the police can track whatever the camera sees. ALPRs give the police hundreds— if not thousands— of eyes across the city to watch you.
You have probably heard of them before as Flock cameras. Flock is one of the largest ALPR brands and their cameras are able to identify everything that passes in front of them. According to US Patent 11,416,565 B1 these cameras are able to identify people based on gender, race, clothing, height, and weight. Flock claims they are a company focused on safety, while they spy on tens of millions of people every single day and scan over 20 billion license plates a month with their vast network of cameras.
Flock has been credibly accused of spying on a children’s gymnastics center in Dunwoody, Georgia. Police officers all across the country have been caught using the ALPR networks (not just Flock) to stalk their ex-partners and romantic interests. Here in Kansas City, a Lenexa resident was tracked over 100 times using AXON cameras after he wrote a critical Op-Ed of the Lenexa Police Department. What we’re saying is, if you live in the Kansas City metro area, you are already living in a warrantless mass surveillance state.
In KCMO, you will not find many Flock cameras unless you visit a Home Depot, Lowe’s or leave the city limits and find yourself in another municipality. Instead, you will find Genetec and Motorola ALPRs. These cameras are everywhere, attached to light posts and pointing in all 4 directions at many intersections in the city.
These cameras are more than just a threat to spy on you. KCPD uses an application called Peregrine Software to blend together the recordings and live feeds of these ALPRs along with all their other data points. This software sorts through all that data to enable them to track whoever they want, hide speed traps at any red light, and countless other uses in an all-in-one platform that even has a mobile app.
KCPD isn't only using this software: they're actively endorsing it by helping produce ads for Peregrine. If you’ve heard of Palantir, Peregrine is like its little brother made by Palantir’s former US Special Operations lead Nick Noone.
