Law enforcement tool needs review, better controls

By The Herald Editorial Board

A report by the University of Washington found that federal immigration agencies have used data from a system of surveillance cameras — called Flock Safety — that uses artificial intelligence to identify registered vehicle owners from license plate numbers and intended as a law enforcement tool and in use by local police agencies in the state and in Snohomish County.

In some cases, it appears that federal use of local data has been without the full understanding of the agencies, local officials and the general public as to the breadth of that access, knowledge that should now prompt a full review of the systems by local and state officials, how they those systems are used and what limitations should be placed on the use and sharing of the data collected.

In some cases, such sharing of data and analysis could be a violation of a state law, passed in 2019, that prohibits local law enforcement agencies from providing information not publicly available to federal authorities for immigration enforcement purposes.

The report’s findings and further investigation by The Herald’s Jenna Peterson were detailed in The Weekend Herald, as was the response of at least one state lawmaker, state Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, that federal immigration access to the local data violated the spirit if not the letter of the state law.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-law-enforcement-tool-needs-review-better-controls/