BOSTON — Authorities credit Flock Safety’s license-plate reader technology for playing a pivotal role in identifying and tracking a fugitive killer connected to the mass shooting at Brown University and murder of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro.
Those AI-powered license plate readers led investigators to an Alamo Rent A Car on Atlantic Avenue in Boston near the Boston Aquarium.
That’s where authorities recovered surveillance of Claudio Neves Valente renting a gray Nissan Sentra with Florida plates.
The cameras allowed police able to track his movements from Rhode Island to Massachusetts up into New Hampshire, even though he changed license plates.
Flock Safety’s Chief Legal Officer told Boston 25 News the company reached out to Providence Police after learning about the manhunt.
He said Flock Safety offered to enable more advanced features on the more than 70 Flock cameras operated around the city of Providence.
“We were literally able to query the images from their system for that vehicle and identify the vehicle very quickly,” said Flock Safety Chief Legal Officer Dan Haley. “They added it to what’s called a hot list, and we were able to determine that the vehicle had left Massachusetts and had switched out its license plates.”
The technology traced Valente’s movements through communities where the technology is used in Massachusetts.
“He passed several cameras in Massachusetts that flagged the system, and they were able to tell he was headed north ultimately into New Hampshire,” explained Haley. “Criminals don’t respect town lines. They don’t respect state lines. The value of sharing information with appropriate safeguards is illustrated by this situation.”
Nearly 100 agencies across Massachusetts use Flock Safety’s license-plate reader technology.
Concerns over privacy and data sharing with the federal government have prompted some communities to reconsider or step back from using Flock Safety technology.
Boston ended a pilot program, and the topic has been front in center in other communities big and small.
The Brookline Select Board recently paused a proposed agreement to let police access data from Flock Safety cameras installed by a private realty company.
Earlier this month, Cambridge ended its relationship with Flock Safety over two of their automatic license plate readers that officials weren’t aware of.
16 Flock cameras across Cambridge were deactivated and removed by the city.
“That was a work order in the system to install cameras. Shame on us, we didn’t delete the work order when they told us to pause their program,” Haley told Boston 25 News.
Flock’s system promotes cross-department sharing, but Haley emphasizes that each department controls access to their own data.
Police departments can choose to share their data with other agencies and with a nationwide database.
“There is no back door. There is no global access. If a community chooses to not share data with anyone, whether it be the federal government or the town next door, that is up to the community period, full stop,” said Haley.
Civil rights and privacy advocates, including the ACLU, have shared concerns about how the data could potentially be used.
They’ve pointed to scenarios where information has been shared with immigration enforcement officials and other federal officials.
Massachusetts State Representative Steve Owens filed a bill that aims to regulate the use of license plate recognition systems in Massachusetts.
The Commonwealth currently has no laws specifically regulating the use of ALPR systems, unlike at least 16 other states, including Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire.
“We respect, particularly in this moment in this country, people have legitimate concerns about surveillance and about government authority,” added Haley. “However, it’s important to recognize what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about photographs of vehicles on public roadways.”
Earlier this year, Flock Safety determined some communities had inadvertently shared information with the federal government by accepting a batch of requests.
Haley said Flock Safety has now made it impossible for that mistake to happen by highlighting federal requests.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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