San Jose police officer fired over misuse of Flock system
In San Jose, United States, a police officer was fired for unauthorized use of the Flock system to track vehicle license plates. According to The Guardian World, he passed information about a woman's whereabouts to his cousin, who is suspected of domestic violence against her.
Unauthorized access
San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph told NBC Bay Area that last year the officer accessed Flock camera data about the woman's vehicle without authorization on his personal phone. According to Joseph, he then sent the obtained information to his cousin.
As the San Jose Mercury News reports, this relative of the officer is the suspect in the domestic violence case. Police discovered the unauthorized access after the woman told law enforcement that her alleged abuser had told her he knew her whereabouts.
According to Joseph, the department immediately placed the officer on administrative leave and launched a criminal investigation into his actions. Police have not publicly disclosed the name of the dismissed employee.
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The case was referred to prosecutors
The San Jose Police Department referred the materials to the office of the Santa Clara County district attorney, but the officer was not charged criminally. The case was also referred to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, which may revoke his right to continue working in state law enforcement.
Joseph told the San Jose Mercury News that California lawmakers should adopt rules that would make it easier to hold people criminally liable for such violations. License plate reader technologies, including Flock, have been criticized over risks to privacy, mass surveillance, false matches, and possible police abuse.
According to the Institute for Justice, dozens of law enforcement officers in the United States used license plate readers to stalk women. The California Legislature ended its work this month without adopting new regulations for such systems.
