The Lake County Sheriff's Office now deletes license-plate-reader images after 14 days instead of 30. The office also audits officer searches monthly instead of annually, changes that tighten oversight of a surveillance network facing statewide scrutiny for misuse.
Christopher Covelli, the sheriff's office public information officer, told the Chicago Tribune that repeated searches of the same plate, or the same plate run under two separate report numbers, could now be flagged as suspicious.
"The more oversight you have on a program like this, the better it is to ensure compliance," Covelli said.
The tighter standards follow a June community forum in Waukegan where a sheriff's office representative said images were stored for 30 days and could be viewed only by a sworn officer with supervisor permission.
Flock Safety cameras photograph the license plates and other identifiers of passing vehicles. Officers can then search the data during investigations. More than 135,000 of the automated readers have been identified nationwide, and four out of five are made by Flock, according to crowdsourced data from the organization DeFlock.
Misuse cases prompt action statewide
The Tribune investigation documented alleged abuse in multiple departments. In McHenry County, a police chief who also worked part-time in Prairie Grove, William Copp, faces felony misconduct charges for allegedly searching the Flock network nearly 250 times to track former romantic partners. In Kenosha County, Wisconsin, former deputy Frank McGrath was charged with two felony counts of misconduct for allegedly using the cameras to stalk his then-girlfriend.
Officers in four other Illinois departments have been placed on administrative leave for alleged improper use.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias ordered Flock to shut off access to U.S. Customs and Border Protection after a state audit found the federal agency had gained access in violation of state law. Giannoulias said in a statement that local departments violating state law could lose access to Illinois data and eligibility for state and federal grants. Evanston deactivated its cameras after the secretary of state's action. Homer Glen voted in August to suspend its program after alleged misuse surfaced in Will County.
Sheriff cites June rescue
Covelli pointed to a June case that illustrated the cameras' investigative value. A Lake County family woke to find their daughter, under 14, missing and without her cellphone. Detectives determined she had been communicating with a man from Georgia and used the cameras to find a vehicle with a Georgia plate that had traveled near her home. Officers located the vehicle at Independence Grove Forest Preserve.
Legislation pending in Springfield
State Rep. Nicolle Grasse, an Arlington Heights Democrat, is co-sponsoring the Automated License Plate Recognition System Act (ALPR Act). The bill would limit the crimes the cameras could investigate and require agencies to delete data within three days. It remains in committee.
Flock has introduced an "audit assistance" feature that detects abnormal search activity and automatically suspends access until administrators review it. The company said one-third of its customers have adopted the feature and that it plans to require it by the end of the year.
No public timeline has been announced for the Lake County Sheriff's Office's next review of its Flock policies.
