Map exposes Californias shocking surveillance hotspots, and which cities are monitored the heaviest
Invoking feelings of the paranoid Rockwell song, “Somebody’s Watching Me,” California is blanketed with thousands of invasive surveillance cameras ready to capture personal information of passersby.More than 117,000 automated license plate readers from Flock Safety are located across the country, including more than 16,000 in California alone, according to a DeFlock map.Flock’s cameras account for about 83 percent of the map’s total.Most of the cameras in California are centered in Los Angeles or the metropolitan Bay Area.
San Francisco County ranked third in the nation for cameras per road mile with 1,196 per 1,000 miles, according to the data.Only New York County and Kings County in New York State ranked higher.Orange County had the highest cameras per road mile in SoCal, coming in at 33rd in the nation with 184 cameras per 1,000 miles.
Los Angeles County came in at number 59 in cameras per 1,000 miles with 143.The cameras are often placed on street lights and take pictures of passing vehicles and record their license plates.Those with access to data could piece together pictures and their locations to decipher where a vehicle was traveling.The readers convert the images into convenient searchable records by a vehicle’s license plate, make, model, color, and distinguishing features.
Location and time information would also be included.California has the most of the cameras, with three other states trailing: Florida with 7,169, Georgia with 7,046, and Illinois with 5,822.DeFlock is an open-source project that takes input from the public and draws from other sources to place the camera locations.
Because of its public-input nature, the map is biased towards populated areas where more reporters can note locations of cameras.Police have said the cameras can help track criminals and missing or stolen vehicles, but privacy advocates are alarmed.Some in Los Angeles worried the cameras could be used for immigration enforcement purposes or even personal to...