WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A shopping mall in West Palm Beach has started to collect driver’s license plate data after installing license plate-reading cameras, commonly referred to as LPR cameras.
The installation comes as other private sector industries are adding the AI-powered devices to their private security system, which court records show law enforcement has commonly used for investigative purposes.
The cameras are often referred to as “Flock cameras” because a tech company called Flock Safety is a manufacturer of the device.
Privacy advocates have voiced frustrations with these types of AI-powered cameras due to privacy concerns, which intensified after a data breach found real-time feeds and older feeds from the company’s PTZ Condor cameras were posted online without a password a few months ago.
Claudette Samuels, who was shopping at Village Commons on Friday, said she had similar concerns after we pointed out the cameras at the shopping center. She said was frustrated the company didn’t notify customers about the surveillance.
“It’s a police state,” Samuels said. “And the fact that they haven’t informed anybody. The public isn’t aware. I don’t know.”
She said it would likely change her shopping habits and she was concerned the private corporation would use the data for monetary purposes.
Erick Valverde, who was also shopping Friday, said he thought the tracking of license plate data by a private company was “weird,” and was concerned what the data would be used for by a private company.
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“What are they going to do with that information at the end of the day,” he said. “And what are they really looking for too, so… now everything is being watched everywhere you go. So it’s kinda weird.”
Kite Realty, a publicly traded company based in Indianapolis, owns the shopping mall on Village Boulevard. A spokesperson didn’t send an on-record written statement about adding the cameras after WPTV started reaching out about a month ago.
Tim Miller, who owns a security company at Lionheart International Services Group, said these types of AI-powered cameras that track either individuals or license plate data are becoming the standard for private security companies. He said these cameras are better because they can track potential threats, like stalkers, and have become more affordable.
“A lot of this technology used to, when it was first developed, it used to be cost prohibitive,” Miller said. “Think of the big screen TVs when they came out. Fast forward four or five years, they’re a third of the cost… It’s much more affordable and so organizations that used to say, ‘No, we can’t afford it,’ are now saying, ‘We’ve got to have it.'”
Both Home Depot and Lowe’s said on their websites they use LPR cameras at some of their stores. WPTV found other private businesses also sent press releases announcing their use of license plate-reading cameras.
Often these announcements say the decision to have the cameras was made to deter theft and other crimes.
