The surveillance & liberty brief

Crow's Nest tracks license-plate readers, facial recognition, police surveillance and the wider civil-liberties beat, town by town. One free email each weekday morning, every line linked to the reporting it came from.

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Today's issue

India's Ministry of Home Affairs directed…

Friday, September 25, 2026 · 18 stories · view as email

Top

India's Ministry of Home Affairs directed states to deploy facial recognition via NAFRS; police were told to use Section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita(India.com)

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs issued guidelines directing state police to use facial recognition, cyber monitoring, and real-time tracking alerts to identify suspected human traffickers, India.com reported.

India Directs States to Expand Facial Recognition and Cyber Surveillance Tracking (The420.in)

India Directs Police to Deploy Facial Recognition and Cyber Surveillance Tools (India.com)

At least 900 Flock cameras were shut off in Texas after state funding cuts; Laredo City Council voted 7-2 to let May voters decide on $1 million for 165 devices(KPRC)

Methuen Councilor Patricia Valley demands Flock camera removal after Lawrence police searched her plate 359 times; Valley previously voted to approve the system(massdailynews.com)

Berlin police launched spatial AI surveillance cameras at Kotbusser Tor for a four-week test; Die Linke and Greens filed a legal challenge to the law in August(24 News HD)

Rep. Lauren Boebert calls on DOT, FAA and DOJ to inventory an estimated 6,000 police drones; she urges mandatory registration within 30 days of deployment(The Daily Caller)

Mumbai deploys AI surveillance cameras and drones along religious procession routes during festival(The Times of India)

Flock watch

Five Indianapolis police officers are charged with alleged misuse of Flock automated license plate reader technology(https://www.14news.com)

Vermont will ban state and local agencies from using license plate readers starting July 1, 2027; Title 23 Section 1609 also bans automated traffic enforcement(Compass Vermont)

St. Lucie County voted Sept. 1 to revoke permits for 52 roadside license plate readers; staff also found three unpermitted cameras installed on county property(The Auto Wire)

Milwaukee Police Department cuts license plate reader retention to seven days and halts direct sharing; officials admit ICE can still access data via vendors(Civic Media)

Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker suspended staff use of Flock cameras over alleged deputy misuse; nearby Sterling halted its system active since May 2025(Shaw Local)

Surveillance & Privacy

Massachusetts fusion center tracked SparrowMap's 14,196-camera network monitoring government vehicles; records went to Wisconsin despite finding no threat(Gadget Review)

A whistleblower alleges USCIS staff posed as Virginia voters to access records in DHS's Unlawful Voter Initiative; Sens. Warner and Kaine flagged it Sept. 14(8News)

Western Australia Police Force published results of its first live facial recognition trial, which ran faces against its Offender Management Division alert list(Police Oracle)

Innocence Project joins lawsuit challenging Reno facial-recognition arrest(biometricupdate.com)

Coming Up

Fri Sep 25

DeadlineWashington, D.C. — Flock Safety deadline to respond to Senate inquiry regarding law enforcement and immigration access to license plate data (NewsMax)

Fri Sep 25

Takes effectU.S. government — U.S. sanctions take effect barring the Autistici/Inventati Collective from receiving funding or providing services (Washington Examiner)

Fri Sep 25

ExpiresDallas, TX — Dallas Police Department deactivates 321 state-funded Flock license plate cameras (The Dallas Morning News)

Mon Sep 28

MeetingNorth Attleborough, Massachusetts — North Attleborough officials revisit the town's Flock license plate reader surveillance program (WJAR)

Mon Sep 28

MeetingLa Cañada Flintridge, CA — Public Safety Commission holds an informational discussion regarding Flock safety cameras (outlooknewspapers.com)

Mon Sep 28

MeetingSouth Lyon, MI — South Lyon City Council receives review on legal and financial impacts of canceling the city's Flock ALPR contract (Yahoo (South Lyon City Council report))

Full calendar and .ics feed →

Speech & Press

Ruling: Judge Timothy Kelly orders the White House to reinstate press credentials for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico; Donald Trump banned the 3 outlets on Sept. 18(The Gazette)

Filing: News organizations asked Judge Kelly for an immediate hearing after the White House barred Politico, CNN, and MS NOW despite an overnight court order(electionlawblog.org)

Ruling: A court orders the White House to restore press passes to CNN, MS NOW, Politico, and 3 reporters; Trump revoked them on Sept. 18, 2026 without notice(reason.com)

Useful

Street-Level Surveillance(sls.eff.org)

EFF's explainers on each police technology: what an ALPR, a drone, a cell-site simulator or a face recognition system actually does with your data.

All the tools and guides →

Past issues

Thu, Sep 24

Massachusetts and Wisconsin fusion centers…

Wed, Sep 23

Carey bans ALPRs and facial recognition

Tue, Sep 22

Western Australia Police Force scanned…

Mon, Sep 21

Las Cruces adds Flock camera privacy rules

Fri, Sep 18

LiveView and Axon let police stream cameras

Thu, Sep 17

El Paso votes to remove Flock cameras

Wed, Sep 16

Hackers dump Flock camera data

Tue, Sep 15

Flock Safety gave feds Boston ALPR data

Mon, Sep 14

Minnesota jurisdictions drop Flock cameras

Fri, Sep 11

Tempe proposes license plate reader ban

Each issue is the day's brief as it went to subscribers. The feed has everything we tracked that did not make the email.