CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WKBW) — A local state lawmaker is calling for public hearings on license plate readers after alleged misuse in his district.
We were first to report that three employees with the Cheektowaga Police Department — one officer and two dispatchers — were suspended following a months-long investigation. The investigation found that they misused Flock camera data to track a co-worker.
Republican Assemblyman Patrick Chludzinski, whose district includes Cheektowaga, sent a letter to the chairs of four Assembly committees asking them to hold joint public hearings on license plate reader technology and potential safeguards.
Chludzinski said the hearings should include a wide range of voices, like law enforcement, technology companies, the public and civil liberties organizations.
Watch: Flock cameras face calls for new rules after Cheektowaga police investigation
Democratic challenger says action is overdue
The issue is front and center in the campaign for the 143rd New York State Assembly District.
Democrat Ryan Taughrin, who is challenging Chludzinski in next month's election, said he has been raising concerns about Flock cameras for months. He appeared before the Cheektowaga Town Board before members voted to approve expanding the program.
"It's too little, too late," Taughrin said. "I don't think we would have heard this public comment without the news out of Cheektowaga coming up."
Taughrin also questioned whether simply holding public hearings goes far enough.
"I don't think it goes far enough and it feels convenient for the timing to only ask for public comment," he said.
Chludzinski rejected the idea that his call for hearings is politically motivated.
"This is not a political issue," Chludzinski said. "This should be a bipartisan issue. We all agree, whether you're Democrat or Republican, that these safeguards need to be in place."
Debate over privacy and public safety
Both candidates said there is a need to balance the investigative benefits of license plate readers with concerns about privacy and potential misuse.
Taughrin pointed to examples in which license plate reader information can help police locate missing people or children and assist in police investigations, but also cited concerns about inaccurate information, improper searches and the potential misuse of the technology by people inside police departments.
Poll finds more oppose Flock cameras than support them
The debate in Western New York comes as a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found more Americans oppose the use of Flock cameras in their communities than support them.
Respondents were asked: "Do you support or oppose the use of Flock cameras, a type of automatic license plate reader (ALPR), in your community?"
38% support the cameras, while 47% oppose them.
