\n
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
The grassroots advocacy group DeFlock the USA<\/a> had identified 26 of these cameras in Lancaster County as of Tuesday. A map of automated license plate readers compiled by that group shows that police departments and corporations have installed cameras in Manheim Township, as well as in East Hempfield and East Lampeter townships. Among the 52 Pennsylvania counties where DeFlock the USA verified at least one plate reader, Lancaster County ranked 23rd for the number of cameras per resident.<\/p>\n As LNP | LancasterOnline reported,<\/a> fixed\u00a0license plate readers were installed by Motorola at entrances to the Shoppes at Belmont in Manheim Township in spring 2026.<\/p>\n Police departments generally have supported the installation of these cameras because of their usefulness in identifying traffic violations and investigating crime. Automated license plate readers have helped to resolve Amber Alerts and, as The New York Times reported, have provided \u201ccritical leads in a number of high-profile cases,\u201d including the manhunt for the man sentenced to life in prison for plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump at one of his Florida golf courses in 2024.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, license plate readers are ripe for misuse.<\/p>\n The Institute for Justice, a libertarian nonprofit law firm, has cataloged more than 200 incidents of automated license plate reader abuse, including stalking and wrongful stops and detentions. Some of the cases involved police searching for a spouse\u2019s name, for instance, or for the name of a former romantic partner, for reasons unrelated to law enforcement.<\/p>\n The Electronic Frontier Foundation points out<\/a> that these cameras also have been used to \u201csurveil protests, which can chill First Amendment-protected dissent.\u201d<\/p>\n That civil liberties nonprofit obtained Flock Safety\u2019s license plate reader search data through public records requests. It found that with \u201cno warrant requirements, limited guardrails, and deficient audit processes,\u201d the databases \u201chave fostered a culture of unrestricted access to everyone\u2019s location information. This culture of abuse has allowed police to treat a mass surveillance network like their own personal search engine, permitting the tracking of the movements of everyday citizens for low-level complaints, personal whims, and sometimes, seemingly, for the lols.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
As LNP | LancasterOnline reported, some states such as Florida and Texas \u201chave stopped funding for Flock cameras or ordered them to be removed from highways in the past few months.\u201d And Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has signaled his support for legislation to restrict automated license plate readers.<\/p>\n State Sen. Chris Gebhard, a Republican whose 48th Senate District includes the northern tip of Lancaster County, is co-sponsoring legislation being crafted by Erie County Republican Sen. Dan Laughlin that would ban networked, AI-powered automated license plate readers that catalog vehicles in a searchable database.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce that surveillance network is built, there is no guarantee it will only be used in ways we find acceptable today,\u201d Laughlin said.<\/p>\n That is precisely the danger and why it must be addressed.<\/p>\n
\n
\n <\/a><\/p>\n