License plate readers now dot every county in southeastern North Carolina. Law enforcement has poured hundreds of thousands into this tracking system. The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office alone spent $219,000 on a deal with Flock Safety, the private firm behind these cameras.
Each passing car triggers a snapshot of its plate. Images are uploaded to servers, sitting there for 30 days minimum. Officers punch in a plate number, make, or paint job—boom, they’ve got every spot that car hit during that stretch.
Sheriff’s offices in New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, and Columbus counties all run Flock contracts, while the Wilmington Police Department stays out of it, according to city officials…