rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/petition/end-flock-in-westland?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-petition-area-end-flock-in-westland' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Metro Detroit DSA https://actionnetwork.org/groups/detroit-dsa https://actionnetwork.org//images/generic_facebook.jpg End mass surveillance in our community! Sign this petition to demand Westland City Council members vote NO on renewing the city’s contract with Flock and to prevent future contracts with similar vendors. What is Flock? The city of Westland’s contract with the Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR or LPR) provider Flock expires this July 2026. On their website, Flock advertises itself as a company “creating a public safety technology ecosystem.” However, while their intent may be to provide a quicker response time, or to even prevent crime, Flock and other vendors like Axon, Rekor, Motorola, and Verkada enable mass surveillance on our community. Westland is one of 6000+ communities that uses Flock cameras. The presence of ALPRs in our community sets a dangerous precedent of establishing an AI-enabled, multi-state network that collects your license plate, vehicle information, and notable details (passengers, bumper stickers, decals, dents, etc.) without your consent or a warrant. The cameras and programs are sold to law enforcement and private organizations, and the data can be accessed beyond your local police or even state government. These cameras are installed across the city in various locations. This location and vehicle data can be used to create a database of information about you and your travel patterns over time. Why is it a problem? Westland was found to be one of many Michigan cities that allows national access to the 32 Flock cameras in our community. Other cities included Garden City, Romulus, Van Buren Township, and Dearborn. ALPRs have misread license plates leading to confrontational interactions with police and arrests of innocent people. They are often deployed in areas of protest where people have the right to assemble. With the multiple locations of ALPRs across the state and country, travel patterns and and your daily movements can be determined. Researchers from EFF and MuckRock found that private companies using ALPRs have sold the data they collected to police, lenders, insurance companies, debt collectors, and even private investigators. This is all done without consent or a warrant. Police that use cloud-based ALPR products like Flock are able to access the national data base of information collected from each ALPR camera. There is nothing stopping another state’s department from accessing Westland’s data as long as the department has not opted out of sharing its data with other Flock users. In prior audits, it was found that simply a one word “justification” was enough to access the information from outside of the state. Your data is saved, whether it matches a warrant or stolen vehicle or not. This side door method allows for personal data to be collected outside of a police department’s jurisdiction, without a warrant, and with minimal to no oversight. In an investigation taking place over 6 months, CBS found over a dozen cases of ALPR use leading to wrongful stops or misuse. In New Mexico, a wrongful stop from an error by the ALPR resulted in a young woman and her 12-year-old sister being surrounded by police who had their weapons drawn. They were forced to get on the ground and were handcuffed. It was reported by 404 Media that through a FOIA request to Indiana Police departments, researchers found that local and state police had conducted 4,000 searches in Flock’s database at a national and state level. It was also found that these searches were conducted at the request of the federal government. This data has been used by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to target immigrants across the country, despite there being no contract between ICE and Flock.   There was also a case involving a Texan police officer who used the nationwide system to search 83,000 ALPR cameras looking for a woman who had an abortion. This officer used the system to access cameras in states where abortion is legal. The Institute for Justice has found there have been 14 cases nationally involving police officers using ALPR data to stalk partners, ex-partners, and even strangers of interest despite the ALPR provider touting internal safety measures. In fact, the majority of these cases were only learned about after victims had reported stalking. Survivors and victims of domestic abuse and intimate partner violence deserve to be safe in their community knowing their privacy is not being violated by those in a position of power. Thanks to a public records request, it was revealed that Flock employees were using their cameras to view a live feed of a children's gymnastics area inside the Marcus Jewish Community Center in Dunwoody, Georgia as part of a sales pitch for the technology. ALPR vendor Axon’s own ethics board released a 2019 report documenting ALPR technology’s risk potential and findings of actual misuse and abuse. These situations include actions taken against protected first amendment activity, for stalking and harassment purposes, and significant risk of data breaches. A 2015 study found more than 100 ALPR online systems were vulnerable, “often with totally open web pages accessible by anyone with a browser". A few years later, another investigation found over 150 ALPR cameras were searchable on the internet using default passwords. These are just a few examples of the dangerous misuse of ALPR technology. While the initial implementation of Flock products was intended to be helpful, its use has an alarming potential for abuse. The current environment does not have consistent regulatory policies or adequate oversight. We want our community members to know their information is protected. We want people to feel safe but not at the expense of invasive data collection and surveillance. We want Flock out of our community and we want to prevent other vendors and products from taking its place. What can we do about it? This unregulated surveillance technology has been shown to be misused by those in authority positions. Communities across the country are pushing back against the use of invasive technology such as Flock and they are succeeding! In Michigan alone, both Ferndale and Clawson have ended their contracts with Flock and use of ALPRs. We ask community members to learn more about the threat of ALPR use like Flock’s nationwide system and consider the impact to our local community. If what you read bothers you, please join fellow concerned community members at future Westland City Council meetings to discuss our concerns with our city council members. Meetings are held at 36300 Warren Road at 7pm on Mondays. Upcoming Westland City Council meeting dates: May 18th June 1st June 15th July 6th July 20th Please share any thoughts and concerns you have with Westland City Council Members by emailing them. Mike McDermott mmcdermott@cityofwestland.com LeKisha Maxwell lmaxwell@cityofwestland.com Emily Bauman ebauman@cityofwestland.com Antoinette Martin amartin@cityofwestland.com Melissa Sampey msampey@cityofwestland.com Andrea Rutkowski arutkowski@cityofwestland.com John Sullivan jsullivan@cityofwestland.com Please sign the petition to urge Westland City Council to consider the ramifications for the community at-large, to protect their community members, and terminate the contract with Flock or any other ALPR-based company! Sources: Police Surveillance is Ripe for Abuse Police Have Reportedly Used License Plate Readers to Stalk Romantic Interests at Least 15 Times in Recent Years Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) Tracked across state lines: Texas sheriff's use of license plate data raises alarms ICE Taps into Nationwide AI-Enabled Camera Network, Data Shows Communities Across the Country Reject Automated License Plate Readers Data Driven: How cops are sharing travel patterns License plate cover leads to traffic stop mishap ACLU You are being tracked Unregulated license plate readers are tracking Michigan drivers — here’s what’s at stake The Human Toll of ALPR Errors Axon's AI Ethics Board Report Flock Safety Employees Watched Kids’ Gymnastics Room to Pitch Surveillance Tech https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/end-flock-in-westland