Latest news with #FlockSafety
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Tacoma police release details on how toddler subject to AMBER Alert was found
Tacoma police released additional details Monday about the search that unfolded after a 2-year-old girl went missing Saturday, leading to her safe return hours later. Authorities activated an AMBER Alert across the state a little over two hours after a woman called to report her daughter, Delilah Everett, couldn't be found in or around a residence in the 4200 block of South Prospect Street, according to a police news release Monday. The alert was canceled that afternoon. Police announced that Delilah had been returned to her family unharmed and they were questioning a man in custody, The News Tribune reported. The Tacoma Police Department initially posted on Facebook that a man was suspected of taking the girl in his car after entering a fast-food restaurant at 4112 S. Steele St. at 9:10 a.m. Saturday. A man who wrote that he is Everett's father posted a reply to the Police Department's post Saturday afternoon, saying that he is grateful for the man who took the girl and that the man saved his daughter. The father declined to comment when The News Tribune reached him via direct message Monday, saying he had already talked to several other news teams, but said he would inform The News Tribune if he has a statement in the future. Here's how police found the toddler, according to the news release: ▪ 9:30 a.m: A call came in from a mother who said her child was missing from a residence in the 4200 block of South Prospect Street. An employee at a nearby business called to report that a man recently entered the business, saying he found the child alone outside and was looking for her parents. When the employee told him that police would be called to help, the man left with the child in his silver sedan. Police began searching for the child and the man based on surveillance footage from the business. Officers checked nearby police stations and the Tacoma Mall, contacted local hospitals and Tacoma Fire stations and ran searches through Flock Safety systems and Automated License Plate Reader technology for the man's vehicle. The search was unsuccessful. ▪ 9:52 a.m.: Suspecting a child abduction, the police patrol shift commander activated the department's Child Abduction Response Team (CART), which includes criminal investigators and personnel from various agencies trained to 'quickly and effectively recover a child who has been abducted, or who is missing under suspicious circumstances by utilizing a team of trained personnel.' ▪ 10:30 a.m.: CART members began arriving on scene and were briefed on the situation as patrol officers continued the search. ▪ 11:42 a.m.: In the absence of new information about the child's location or why she was taken, the Washington State Patrol issued an AMBER Alert across the state notifying the public of the missing child. The alert said the girl was last seen walking on South Steele Street before a man drove away with her toward 38th Street, The News Tribune reported. 'Within minutes, dozens of calls came in from community members,' the news release said. ▪ 11:50 a.m.: A caller provided authorities with 'key identifying information' about the man seen with the missing child. ▪ 12:06 p.m.: Based on the caller's information, police located the man's address, where they found the missing child. Police took the man into custody and interviewed him at police headquarters. Police also interviewed the man's friends and family. Police booked the man into the Pierce County Jail on an outstanding warrant and forwarded their investigation to prosecutors for a charging decision. The investigation is still active, and police might share further updates after a charging decision. 'The Tacoma Police Department would like to thank the community and our agency partners for their swift assistance during this incident,' the release says.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas police 'abused' license plate data for immigration search, Illinois police say
A Texas law enforcement agency reportedly used license plate data shared by a Chicago-area police department in locating a woman for immigration enforcement purposes, despite Illinois state law prohibiting such use. The Johnson County Sheriff's Office allegedly used data from Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) — also referred to as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) — through Flock Safety, a private company. The "National Lookup" feature is used by law enforcement agencies "for purposes of immigration enforcement." The Illinois Secretary of State's Office notified the Mount Prospect Police Department that it was among multiple other law enforcement agencies whose data was used by the Texas department. "The use of ALPR data collected by Mount Prospect Flock Safety cameras for this purpose does not align with the Mount Prospect Police Department's values and is a clear violation of Illinois state law," the Chicago department stated in a press release. A site called 404 Media shows the Johnson County Sheriff's Office requested data from 83,000 of Flock Safety's cameras, including those in Mount Prospect. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is requesting an investigation into the incident by the attorney general, The Independent reports. He says he is also making an audit system to prevent similar uses of ALPR data in the future. A 2023 Illinois law prohibits the sharing of license plate data to track undocumented immigrants or people seeking abortions. A total of 262 immigrant-related searches were made between mid-January and April in Mount Prospect alone, Giannoulias said. Deputy Secretary of State Scott Burnham warned that such violations could lead to the loss of state funding. Giannoulias says he requested that Flock Safety block access to 62 out-of-state agencies seeking data related to abortion or immigration. The ALPR company also created a program to flag access requests with the terms "abortion" and "immigration" and deny the requests. Finally, law enforcement agencies will be required to respect the secretary of state's audits with the goal of noting trends in certain requests, Burnham explained. "I am tremendously upset that some law enforcement agencies who agreed to follow Illinois law, in order to gain access to our ALPR data, conducted illegal searches violating the trust of our community," Chief of Police Michael Eterno said. "As disappointed as I am with these other agencies, I want to emphasize that no member of the Mount Prospect Police Department shared ALPR data in violation of the law. I realize that this misuse of Mount Prospect's ALPR data violates the trust of our community, and we as a department will continue to work to enhance the Flock ALPR software and ensure this abuse does not occur in the future." Following the incident with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, the Mount Prospect Police Department said it has made, or plans to make, several changes to prevent similar incidents in the future, including opted out of the Flock Safety "National Lookup" feature cancelled any data sharing agreement with law enforcement agencies who violated Illinois state law revoked access to Mount Prospect's ALPR data for all law enforcement agencies outside of Illinois will be updating its ALPR policy to include regular audits of the searches being conducted by internal and external users As of Friday morning, the Johnson County Sheriff's Office had not issued a public statement about the incident. The name of the individual who was the focus of the search has not been disclosed to the public. Flock Safety has released a statement amid what it calls "a misunderstanding." The ALPR company indicated contact with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office regarding the incident in Illinois, seeking to correct "misreporting" that the program was used "to target people seeking reproductive healthcare." The Sheriff allegedly told Flock Safety that this "is unequivocally false." "According to the Sheriff's office, a local family called and said their relative had self-administered an abortion, and then she ran away," Flock Safety said. "Her family feared she was hurt, and asked the deputy to search for her to the best of their abilities. Law enforcement performed a nationwide search in Flock, the broadest search possible within the system, to try to locate her quickly. Luckily, she was found safe and healthy in Dallas a couple of days later." The woman faces no charges and was never under criminal investigation, the ALPR company added, saying that Texas police were looking for her as a missing person rather than as a crime suspect. "We're grateful for the opportunity to work with Illinois officials to clarify what happened, correct misconceptions, and implement lasting improvements that uphold the trust of both law enforcement agencies and the residents they serve." — The Independent contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas police use of license plate data under investigation in Illinois
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Texas sheriff's office accessed Mount Prospect license plate data in immigration searches, police say
The Brief The Illinois Secretary of State's Office informed Mount Prospect of their data, as well as other Illinois law enforcement agencies,' was accessed through the National Lookup feature via Flock Safety by other law enforcement agencies for immigration enforcement purposes. The Johnson County Sheriff's Department in Texas utilized the feature, accessing the data from over 83,000 cameras around the country, including Mount Prospect's. Mount Prospect has since opted out of the program. MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. - A Texas sheriff's department accessed license plate reader data from Mount Prospect police as part of immigration enforcement efforts, in violation of Illinois law, authorities said. What we know The Illinois Secretary of State's Office informed Mount Prospect that its data—and that of other Illinois law enforcement agencies—was accessed through the National Lookup feature via Flock Safety by other law enforcement agencies for immigration enforcement purposes. This is a violation of Illinois law, according to authorities. Police said the investigation also revealed that other law enforcement agencies conducted 262 immigration-related searches on Mount Prospect's data. The Johnson County Sheriff's Department in Texas utilized the feature, accessing the data from over 83,000 cameras around the country, including Mount Prospect's. Mount Prospect has since opted out of the program. What they're saying "I am tremendously upset that some law enforcement agencies who agreed to follow Illinois law, in order to gain access to our ALPR data, conducted illegal searches violating the trust of our community", said Chief of Police Michael Eterno "As disappointed as I am with these other agencies, I want to emphasize that no member of the Mount Prospect Police Department shared ALPR data in violation of the law. I realize that this misuse of Mount Prospect's ALPR data violates the trust of our community, and we as a department will continue to work to enhance the Flock ALPR software and ensure this abuse does not occur in the future," said Chief Eterno. Flock Safety said it is tightening access to the Illinois data. The Source Details for this story were provided by the Mount Prospect Police Department.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Everett police arrest woman after stolen vehicle crashes into building
A woman was arrested in Everett on Thursday morning after police say she crashed a stolen vehicle while trying to evade officers, according to a statement from the Everett Police Department. Officers were first alerted to the stolen vehicle around 10:30 a.m. through the city's Flock Safety license plate reader system, which flagged the vehicle in central Everett. Police located the car shortly afterward and tried to stop it, but the driver did not pull over and sped away. Officers did not initiate a pursuit. The suspect ultimately crashed the vehicle into a business near the intersection of 42nd Street and Rucker Avenue. She was taken into custody at the scene without further incident. Police identified the driver as a woman in her 30s. She was booked into the Snohomish County Jail on suspicion of attempting to elude police and possession of a stolen vehicle. No injuries were reported.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Illinois officials investigate license-plate data shared with police seeking woman who had abortion
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois secretary of state on Thursday asked for an investigation into a suburban Chicago police department after learning that it violated state law by sharing data from automatic license-plate readers with a Texas sheriff seeking a woman who had an abortion. Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias asked the attorney general to review the matter. He also is creating an audit system to ensure police departments don't run afoul of a 2023 law banning the distribution of license-plate data to track women seeking abortions or to find undocumented immigrants. The incident underscores the fears that led to the law: In particular, that states which restricted abortion access after Roe v. Wade was overturned would use the technology to follow and possibly prosecute women seeking the procedure by crossing into Illinois, where it is readily available. 'License plate readers can serve as an important tool for law enforcement, but these cameras must be regulated so they aren't abused for surveillance, tracking the data of innocent people or criminalizing lawful behavior,' the Democrat said in a statement. Data on what states have an Illinois-style prohibition on license-plate data sharing are not readily available. However, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Illinois is one of 22 states and the District of Columbia that have shield laws protecting abortion patients and providers from criminal or civil action from states that restrict the procedure. An expert in privacy law, however, said that as long as states share the data, there will be misuse. That is because the process relies on police departments telling the truth about why they want the information, said Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the New York-based Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. 'We're basically just asking cops to pinky-swear that they won't misuse this data and then act shocked when they do,' Cahn said. According to Giannoulias, police in Mount Prospect, 24 miles (39 kilometers) northwest of Chicago, shared license-plate data with the sheriff in Johnson County, Texas, who was looking for a woman whose family was worried because she had undergone a self-administered abortion. Giannoulias says Mount Prospect also shared data outside of Illinois on undocumented immigrants, in violation of the law. Between mid-January and April, there were 262 searches on immigration-related matters in Mount Prospect alone, he said. Telephone and email messages were left for Mount Prospect Police Chief Michael Eterno. Violations by Mount Prospect could result in loss of state funding, deputy Secretary of State Scott Burnham said. The incident was revealed by a website called 404 Media, which reported that the Texas sheriff sent a nationwide request for data from 83,000 cameras operated by the private company Flock Safety, including those in Mount Prospect. At Giannoulias' request, Flock Safety blocked access to 62 out-of-state agencies that have sought data related to abortion or immigration, Burnham said. The company also set up a program to flag the terms 'abortion' and 'immigration' in requests for access and deny those applications. Police agencies will also be required to comply with audits by the secretary of state to mark trends or upticks in certain requests, Burnham said. The Flock Safety cameras take photos of passing license plates thousands of times a day. The technology, called Automatic License Plate Recognition, is helpful in tracking stolen vehicles or carjackings, missing persons and in other authorized cases. The technology allows police agencies to read thousands of license plates per minute from images captured by cameras along roadways. The first-in-the-nation law restricting the reasons for sharing data, which Giannoulias pushed, was one of several pieces of legislation Democrats who control the Illinois General Assembly adopted as lawmakers in the post-Roe v. Wade world strengthened abortion's availability and accessibility.
