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Claims of constitutional infirmity are overstated.
On Wednesday, Senator Josh Hawley (R—Mo) presided over a widely watched hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism. The topic was a hot one: Flock cameras. While it’s not unusual for Senate committees to take up heated policy debates, anyone hoping Wednesday’s hearing would provide more clarity and guidance on how to evaluate the arguments for and against the cameras left without real insight from the witnesses called to testify. While the harshest critiques and most sensational anecdotes took center stage, the hearing room lacked reasoned counterarguments and important context. What follows is a preview of those counterarguments and missing context. A brief overview:
“Flock cameras” refers to a specific brand of automated license-plate readers (ALPRs) — an increasingly common product that has been in use by American law enforcement agencies for more than 20 years. These are motion-activated cameras that photograph passing vehicles and use AI to quickly scan and log license plates, as well as other identifying features such as make, model, color, and distinguishing marks like bumper stickers and visible damage.
Continue reading the entire piece here at the Daily Wire
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Rafael Mangual is the Nick Ohnell Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and a member of the Council on Criminal Justice