New revelations from a **Flock Safety** company presentation highlight the expanding capabilities of their license plate recognition (LPR) cameras, now extending to detailed vehicle identification beyond traditional license plates. The presentation outlines how law enforcement can leverage data on 'decals, bumper stickers, back and top racks—along with temporary and unique state tags.' This aggregated data forms what **Flock** calls a 'Vehicle Fingerprint.' ### Beyond License Plates: The 'Vehicle Fingerprint' This 'Vehicle Fingerprint' is touted as a tool for officers to gather more information 'even when you don’t have full plate information.' The system empowers police to search this data, aiming to 'build stronger cases with less information upfront.' Capabilities include locating multiple vehicles believed to be moving in tandem and performing 'multi geo searches.' ### Echoes of Past Surveillance Concerns The concept of tracking individuals or groups based on their proximity and shared patterns is not new. As privacy expert **Bruce Schneier** noted in his 2014 book *Beyond Fear*, similar techniques were brought to light by **Edward Snowden's** revelations, which exposed the **NSA's** use of cell phone location data to track phones habitually near each other. ### Broader Implications for Privacy While **Flock's** technology presents a specific application of vehicle surveillance, the underlying principle extends to any entity with broad access to location data. The ability to correlate disparate pieces of information—be it vehicle characteristics or cell phone pings—to establish relationships and track movements poses significant challenges to individual privacy. This development underscores the ongoing need for robust privacy frameworks and public awareness regarding the pervasive nature of modern surveillance technologies.