SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office has tracked down hundreds of criminals using its Real Time Crime Center, but some of the technology is facing backlash statewide.
The department uses up to 100 Flock cameras that read license plates automatically. Within the last two years, that technology has helped deputies find 17 missing people, arrest 572 suspects and recover 247 vehicles.
Lt. Justin Elliott shared one success story about saving a suicidal woman.
“One that stands out is there was an individual who was suicidal. We got that information that she might be headed to a bridge, to try to take her own life. So using license plate reader technology with a known vehicle for that person,” Elliott said. “Two deputies were able to get there in time. Make contact with that person in crisis, and get her some help.”
The Flock cameras connect to a nationwide network that lets law enforcement agencies share data. If a department has the national lookup feature turned on, other agencies across the country and federal agents like ICE can access camera data. Until recently the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office had that feature turned on.
“It became clear to us after we looked through the audit logs that, yes, there were people who were running queries into our system. And it hits everybody’s place that are in the system nationwide, not just ours. They didn’t query Spokane County specifically they query everybody across the nation,” Nowels said.
The sheriff’s office says it was the second department nationwide to report this to Flock. In July, it turned off the national lookup feature. Now only Washington state and some local idaho departments can access the data.
The department checks the system more often than required.
“Our policy says we’ll audit the information, every year, but we’re doing it almost monthly,” Nowels said. “So we’re doing everything we can to make sure that we’re tracking why the inquiries are being made. And then who’s doing it?”
State lawmakers are writing new rules for Flock cameras. Several Washington departments have turned off their cameras completely.
But Nowels said his department will keep using them.
“If we lose it, our communities will be less safe and our cops will be able to do less work than we’re able to do today,” Nowels said.
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