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

Hawaii plans to deploy 400 plate readers

Monday, October 5, 2026 · 23 stories · view as email

Top

Hawaii's Department of Law Enforcement plans to deploy roughly 400 license plate readers.(West Hawaii Today)

Hawaii's Department of Law Enforcement plans to install roughly 400 automatic license plate readers statewide, chief special investigator Mike Lambert told local outlets, utilizing state transportation infrastructure.

ANALYSISHawaii State Law Enforcement Plans Deployment of 400 License Plate Readers Statewide (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)

More cities terminate Flock license plate reader contracts following resident opposition.(Belleville News-Democrat)

An HSI agent created records on eight ICE observers in Palantir's system.(biometricupdate.com)

UK ministers prepare rules to bar under-16s from major social media platforms.(reclaimthenet.org)

DHS tested three walk-through facial recognition systems on pedestrians exiting the country.(biometricupdate.com)

Judge Alvin Hellerstein refused to dismiss a union lawsuit over federal online speech monitoring.(eff.org)

The pattern

Three counties audited, investigated, or charged officers over unauthorized searches in Flock license-plate databases.

Surry County audit logs show 102 Flock camera queries for traffic infractions.(mtairynews.com)

Chesterfield County police investigator Rebekkah Robinson was charged with alleged Flock ALPR misuse.(roanoke.com)

Oakland County sheriff investigates alleged misuse of Flock license-plate data by former deputy.(CBS News)

Under the radar

Auburn Councilor Terry Cuddy seeks re-evaluation of an Axon police camera contract.(auburnpub.com)

EFF and ACLU demanded Marin County Sheriff records over 254,131 plate shares.(eff.org)

Flock watch

Polk County removed Flock surveillance cameras from state rights-of-way(Winter Haven News Chief)

Lynchburg City Council votes to end Flock Safety camera contract(Culpeper Star-Exponent)

Tallahassee Police accessed Flock surveillance database before deploying cameras(eu.tallahassee.com)

Lexington police surrounded home based on Flock match(Spectrum News)

Wisconsin communities ended or suspended Flock camera programs(KDHL Radio)

Surveillance & Privacy

Dutchess County pulled a bill requiring lawmakers to approve police surveillance contracts.(Mid-Hudson News)

Sen. Ron Wyden demanded Sightline Intelligence delete aerial tram marketing footage.(KOIN 6 Portland)

DC Department of Health Care Finance potentially exposed data on 399,086 Medicaid members.(The Daily Hodl)

State Department requires Mexican TN visa applicants to set social media profiles public.(Latin Times)

Coming Up

Mon Oct 5

DeadlineCharlotte, NC — Bids close for Charlotte's request for proposals for an automatic license plate reader vendor (Hoodline)

Mon Oct 5

HearingSouth Windsor, CT — South Windsor Town Council holds a public hearing on removing Flock license plate readers (Patch)

Mon Oct 5

HearingWashington, DC — U.S. District Court holds hearing on whether to issue preliminary injunction restoring White House press access for banned outlets (The Gazette)

Mon Oct 5

MeetingCaldwell, ID — Caldwell City Council meets and may take up discussion on a proposed Axon automated license plate reader contract (idahonews.com)

Mon Oct 5

MeetingMonroe County, MO — Monroe County Sheriff's Office and County Commission hold a public meeting to discuss Flock Safety surveillance cameras (komu.com)

Mon Oct 5

MeetingMonroe County, MO — Monroe County Sheriff's Office holds an informational meeting regarding the county's use of Flock surveillance cameras (ABC17NEWS)

Full calendar and .ics feed →

Speech & Press

Appeals court paused Minnesota's ban on AI nudification images in xAI's lawsuit.(CBS News)

Three California agencies used a pact to conceal environmental data from public disclosure.(KCRA)

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly orders the White House to restore press credentials.(RadarOnline)

Useful

Attending a protest(ssd.eff.org)

What your phone gives away at a demonstration and how to carry it so it gives away less.

All the tools and guides →

Past issues

Fri, Oct 2

West Yorkshire Police deployed live facial…

Thu, Oct 1

Cambridgeshire Police will deploy live…

Wed, Sep 30

Flock Safety plans surveillance drones

Tue, Sep 29

Germany's parliament passed a Federal…

Mon, Sep 28

Texas cities deactivate 900 Flock cameras

Fri, Sep 25

India's Ministry of Home Affairs directed…

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

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