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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Met Police deploys live facial recognition

Friday, October 23, 2026 · 19 stories · view as email

Top

London's Met Police will deploy permanent live facial recognition on Oxford Street.(Kent Online)

The Southend Echo reports London's Oxford Street will deploy permanent live facial recognition cameras in December to scan passing shoppers' faces against a watchlist of wanted suspects, amid criticism from human rights groups.

London Police to Deploy Permanent Live Facial Recognition Cameras on Oxford Street (https://streamlinefeed.co.ke/)

Metropolitan Police to Install Live Facial Recognition Cameras on London's Oxford Street (London Now)

Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger barred county agencies from deploying Flock cameras.(WAMC/Northeast Public Radio)

French police are accessing footage from 80,000 cameras to identify rioters.(biometricupdate.com)

Orange County's fusion center told police to monitor people opposing Flock.(404media.co)

US Park Police leased mobile surveillance trailers from LiveView Technologies for $343,000.(The Guardian)

Normal Police Department is piloting drones dispatched to select emergency calls.(WEEK | 25 News Now)

Under the radar

Cherokee County residents oppose a proposed $37 million contract with Axon.(Cherokee Tribune)

Flock watch

Delavan, Wisconsin cancels Flock contract, removes nine cameras(TMJ4 News)

Poughkeepsie Common Council votes to cancel Flock Safety contracts(Mid Hudson News)

Four states push bills restricting license plate readers(Bloomberg Law News)

Appleton Common Council prohibits automatic license plate readers(NBC26)

Mill Valley suspends Flock readers and cameras(Marin Independent Journal)

Surveillance & Privacy

A Medium analysis argues individual consent fails to protect collective privacy.(Medium.com)

Researchers built devices costing under $10 to detect pervasive surveillance.(Medium.com)

CBP searched electronic devices of over 36,000 noncitizens entering the country.(PCMag UK)

Sen. Mark Warner proposed a federal ban on surveillance pricing.(22 News WWLP)

Coming Up

Fri Oct 23

DeadlineLos Angeles, CA — Deadline for Los Angeles City Council to consider final approval of the streetlight license plate reader pilot program (Patch)

Fri Oct 23

VoteLos Angeles, CA — Los Angeles City Council considers final approval of streetlight license plate reader pilot program (Patch)

Sat Oct 24

MeetingCambridge, MA — Civic Assembly meets to review municipal surveillance technology including ShotSpotter and park surveillance cameras (WCVB)

Sat Oct 24

MeetingBasildon, UK — Essex Police deploy Live Facial Recognition vans in Basildon (Southend Echo)

Sat Oct 24

MeetingLondon, UK — Metropolitan Police deploy live facial recognition surveillance during the Chelsea FC v Tottenham Hotspur FC football match (The Independent UK)

Sat Oct 24

MeetingCambridge, MA — ShotSpotter Civic Assembly holds its first meeting to review the gunshot-detection program (thecrimson.com)

Full calendar and .ics feed →

Speech & Press

Minnesota asked a court to order DOJ to share evidence.(CBS News)

Los Angeles police tackled and detained photojournalist Angel Perez for two hours.(pressfreedomtracker.us)

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatens broadcaster licenses over coverage of disputed polls.(freedom.press)

Useful

Stop LAPD Spying(stoplapdspying.org)

The coalition that got predictive policing out of Los Angeles. Its reports show how to take a program apart with public records.

All the tools and guides →

Past issues

Tue, Oct 27

Suffolk Constabulary will deploy live…

Mon, Oct 26

New York passes license plate reader bill

Thu, Oct 22

A New Mexico judge orders Meta…

Wed, Oct 21

Madison County drops Flock Safety contract

Tue, Oct 20

ACLU warns ICE could target activists

Mon, Oct 19

El Paso bars Flock license plate reader deals

Fri, Oct 16

Courts reject DOJ voter roll lawsuits

Thu, Oct 15

ICE plans contractor analyst program

Wed, Oct 14

Missouri sues Temu, alleging spyware code

Tue, Oct 13

Davidson County votes to bag Flock cameras

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