The FBI’s intelligence division’s plan to gain direct access to an extensive network of cameras could help expand that information sharing. like the fbi gradesIts intelligence division shares information with a variety of federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies.
Flock: Sharing is an option for local police
Flock itself temporarily provided access to Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, the Secret Service and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service as part of a pilot program last year. Flock confirmed the pilot in the office of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), according to wyden. Flock says It has federal clients “including national parks, Veterans Affairs hospitals and military bases,” but does not work with ICE.
Federal attempts to access the data could be limited by company policies. Flock says communities that use their cameras can grant data access to federal agencies, but sharing with federal agencies is disabled by default. In March, flock said was “defining a new relationship with federal authorities,” including conditions for maintaining local control over data sharing.
“Flock data belongs to the agency that owns the cameras. There is no backdoor in Flock. Any access is explicitly based on the permission and voluntary acceptance of the local agency,” the company said.
We’ve reached out to Flock and Motorola Solutions and will update this article if they provide any comment.
There are also state laws that limit access to data. California prohibits Prevent state and local agencies from sharing data from ALPR cameras with federal or other state law enforcement agencies. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said in January 2024 that dozens of California law enforcement agencies violated the law by sharing ALPR information with out-of-state agencies.
TO virginia law enacted last year imposed similar limits. The FBI’s request for proposals said contractors must identify the location of servers where data is stored to verify compliance with state and local laws regarding data from license plate readers.
