A Louisiana lawmaker is pushing to stop the spread of an artificial-intelligence policing system that reads license plates, records vehicle characteristics and stores that information in a searchable database.
Caddo Parish state Rep. Danny McCormick said he is drafting legislation that would prohibit AI-enabled Flock Safety cameras across Louisiana, arguing the devices violate constitutional protections and enable "warrantless mass surveillance."
How the system works
Flock Safety's cameras capture license-plate information and certain vehicle details, then add those records to a database that law enforcement agencies can search. Flock says its technology has been used in nearly one million cases nationwide, a statistic the company cites to demonstrate its adoption and utility for investigations.
Supporters vs. critics
Backers of the cameras say they are a targeted investigative tool to track vehicles of interest and help solve crimes. McCormick and other critics counter that the technology does not distinguish between suspects and innocent motorists, potentially creating persistent logs of law-abiding citizens' movements that can be accessed by multiple agencies without a warrant.
"Warrantless mass surveillance is what these Flock cameras do. They record the license plates. They can share them without warrants. They can share them with all the different police entities across the country," Rep. McCormick said.
The debate centers on balancing public safety benefits—faster leads and more solved crimes—against privacy and civil liberties concerns, including whether routine travel should be recorded and retained in searchable systems.
What comes next
McCormick's proposed statewide ban would force a legislative debate over automated license-plate readers and could serve as a model for other states considering limits on automated monitoring. The proposal is likely to prompt hearings, testimony from law enforcement and privacy advocates, and scrutiny of how data is stored, shared and governed.
Whether lawmakers prioritize quicker investigations or greater restrictions on surveillance will determine whether the cameras remain widespread in Louisiana or are curtailed by statute.
