Cochise County supervisors raise privacy, security concerns over Flock AI license-plate cameras; sheriff to revise grant language

Cochise County supervisors spent Thursday's work session warning that cloud-based, AI-driven license-plate camera systems marketed by Flock AI pose privacy and security risks and said the county's sheriff's office will return with modified grant language and vendor options that would place data control with the sheriff.

The board's chair, who opened the session, said the county is not opposed to traditional, closed-network license-plate readers used for Amber alerts or criminal investigations, but described a different class of systems that, he said, ‘‘are not just looking at the license plate’’ and instead ‘‘build what they call a data mosaic of your vehicle’’ by analyzing color, dents, bumper stickers and occupants. He said the mosaic can persist after video is…