Surveillance technology is spreading across Maine, with automated license plate readers, workplace monitoring cameras and large camera-equipped trailers increasingly being used by police departments and private businesses.
The growth has outpaced state law. Maine prohibits private companies from operating automated license plate readers, bans facial recognition by law enforcement and requires employers to notify workers about workplace surveillance. But newer technologies have created gray areas that existing laws do not clearly address.
Automated license plate readers, commonly called Flock cameras, have drawn particular attention. Public records reviewed by the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram identified at least 18 Maine communities that currently use or have used ALPRs, although the review was not considered comprehensive.
Police say the cameras help them quickly locate suspects, stolen vehicles and missing people and have contributed to investigations ranging from homicides to missing-person cases. Maine law requires ALPR data to be deleted after 21 days, and departments generally require searches to be tied to active investigations.
Lewiston has the largest known deployment in Maine, with 14 Flock cameras. Other departments have used equipment from companies including SecureWatch 24, Verkada, Leonardo and Axon, according to a story by CentralMaine.com
Supporters say the systems are limited tools rather than constant surveillance. Lewiston Sgt. Joey Brown said Flock cameras do not provide police with a live video feed and that most captured information is never reviewed.
Critics, however, argue that residents are often not given enough information or a chance to weigh in before the cameras are installed. Some Maine communities have approved the technology through public processes, while others, including Auburn, installed cameras without public discussion or a council vote.
Privacy advocates also point to problems elsewhere. Officers in other states have allegedly misused ALPR systems to track former partners or locate people seeking abortions. Mistaken plate readings have also resulted in wrongful detentions and arrests.
No comparable abuses have been documented in Maine so far.
Maine Chiefs of Police Association President Scott Stewart said police need clear policies to ensure new technology protects both public safety and individual rights. But unlike some other technologies, such as body cameras and Tasers, the association does not currently have a dedicated working group providing departments with ALPR policy guidance.
Civil liberties advocates warn that increasingly sophisticated surveillance systems could undermine constitutional protections against unreasonable searches, even as courts have generally found the basic use of license plate readers to be constitutional.
Though the concerns are getting more attention these AI camereas have been around for a while. Here’s a story filed last year by WMTW TV.
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