Flock Camera Vandalized In Cleveland Community
JOHNSTON COUNTY, N.C. – Law enforcement is investigating after a Flock license plate-reading camera outside a Johnston County business was torn down and vandalized.
The incident was reported Sept. 25 in the parking lot of Lowe’s Home Improvement on Cleveland Crossings Drive.
According to law enforcement, an unknown person removed the camera and damaged it.
The camera, valued at approximately $2,400, was owned and operated by Lowe’s.
Flock cameras are automated license plate readers capable of photographing vehicles and recording information such as license plate numbers and vehicle characteristics. The technology is used by law enforcement agencies and private businesses to help identify vehicles connected to criminal investigations.
The cameras have also become the subject of growing privacy and surveillance concerns in North Carolina.
Those concerns have included the use of cameras installed at Lowe’s stores. Earlier this year, it was reported that the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation had access to Flock camera data from Lowe’s locations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia as part of a law enforcement pilot program.
Several North Carolina communities have reconsidered their use of the technology.
Pittsboro voted earlier this year to end its contract with Flock following concerns from residents about privacy and surveillance. Hillsborough previously canceled its Flock contract after town officials raised concerns about data privacy and provisions governing access to information collected by the cameras.
Law enforcement agencies have defended the technology as a valuable investigative tool for locating stolen vehicles, identifying suspects and assisting in missing-person and other criminal investigations.
Similar cameras have also been intentionally damaged elsewhere in North Carolina. Rutherfordton Police reported this summer that Flock cameras in that community had been vandalized and warned that damaging or disabling the equipment could lead to criminal charges.
No arrest has been reported in connection with the Johnston County incident.
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Patriot
Maybe they will soon realize that people around here take their constitutional rights seriously.
Good deal, give this person a ARCOM!
Good work
Yeah, you’d be a real screaming Patriot if they were looking for YOUR child or car.
Commit no crime, you’ll have no fear.
It’s possible that some day theses cameras might save life of the ones doing the destruction. I could give a R’s Ace if my plate gets a picture taken of it. If the solve crime I say put more of them up.