A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision protecting cellular location data privacy has civil liberties advocates questioning how police departments across Kentucky, including those in Lexington, use license plate reader technology.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled that police need a warrant to obtain cellphone location data, even from third-party companies. The decision in Chatrie v. United States has sparked debate about how Flock Safety cameras, which track vehicles across databases searchable by law enforcement nationwide, align with Fourth Amendment protections.

Caleb Brown, chief executive of The Bluegrass Institute, recently examined the ruling's implications in an op-ed with local attorney Dan Canon. Brown argues that tracking vehicles through license plate readers raises similar privacy concerns as tracking cellphones. "How different is that, frankly, from tracking someone's car as it moves through a city?" Brown said, noting that most people spend more than 99 percent of their time within a few hundred yards of their vehicle.

Brown expressed concern that police use license plate readers as a dragnet tool rather than targeted investigation. "This kind of turns the presumption of innocence on its head," he said, noting that such surveillance collects evidence before any suspected crime is known to authorities.

Lexington Police have deployed 125 license plate readers throughout Fayette County since 2022, provided by Flock Safety. The cameras have assisted in recovering 283 stolen vehicles, serving 305 warrants and subpoenas, seizing 83 firearms, and charging 513 individuals.

Despite the technology's reported crime-fighting benefits, privacy advocates warn that without new safeguards, police access to surveillance data could expand unchecked. Brown stressed the need for regulatory guardrails to protect Kentuckians' privacy. "If we don't put guardrails on the ability of people to access this information, we've given up privacy almost entirely," he said.

The debate follows instances of alleged misuse. Earlier this year, a Shively police officer was arrested for using license plate readers to track a woman, and an Louisville Metro Police detective faced investigation for questionable searches. Kentucky lawmakers have begun questioning Flock representatives about the cameras, signaling potential legislative action.