Austin police are still using license plate reader technology months after the Austin City Council ended the city’s program over privacy concerns.
A KUT investigation found the Austin Police Department accessed data from Flock Safety license plate readers maintained by neighboring law enforcement agencies within the last month. The access skirts the city’s push to end the firm’s presence in Austin — and highlights a gap in Austin’s policies on surveillance technology.
The cameras scan license plates at intersections and allow police to search a database for certain criminal activity, like stolen cars or arrest warrants tied to certain vehicles…