New York Police Employ AI to Monitor Drivers: Examining the Legal Debate

New York police's use of artificial intelligence (AI) to track drivers' traffic patterns in order to expose potential criminal activity has raised significant legal and ethical questions. One notable case involved the AI scanning a database of 1.6 billion New York license plates over a two-year period to track a car allegedly involved in drug trafficking. The car, driven by David Zayas, a convicted drug dealer from Massachusetts, was tracked through hundreds of license plate readers (LPRs) as it made multiple trips between Massachusetts and New York City. A seemingly ordinary traffic stop led to the discovery of drugs, a firearm, and a large sum of money in Zayas' vehicle.

Zayas' defense attorney, Ben Gold, brought attention to the police force's reliance on an AI-powered surveillance program known as "Rekor Scout" and questioned its legality due to the lack of judicial oversight. The police's use of LPRs and AI in this case was not mentioned in the original criminal complaint and indictment, and Gold obtained this information through a public records request.

The Rekor Scout AI system claims to enhance public safety by utilizing AI-driven LPRs and vehicle recognition. The Westchester County Police's Real Time Crime Center operates one of the largest ALPR databases in the country, consisting of at least 480 LPRs that record approximately 16.2 million vehicles per week, retaining the data for two years. This extensive surveillance program has the capability to track individuals' location histories without a warrant, a fact that Gold argued constituted a warrantless search and invasion of privacy.

Gold's efforts to discover the locations of these surveillance cameras were denied, although it was acknowledged that they change frequently. He further raised concerns about the potential for data-sharing with other local departments and access to a national database, expanding the scope of this surveillance network beyond what is currently known. The combination of high-powered tech, quick data scanning through AI, and the extended data storage period poses serious privacy implications.

Critics argue that surveillance networks relying on ALPR technology can retroactively track people's movements with a simple search query, thereby potentially infringing on Fourth Amendment rights. The vastness and level of detail in such searches are only limited by the number of cameras inputting data and the length of data retention.

As the legal case surrounding David Zayas unfolds, the implications of using AI-powered surveillance programs in law enforcement continue to be a subject of debate. The balance between public safety and personal privacy remains a crucial concern, and questions about the legality and ethicality of utilizing AI to track individuals' movements persist. As technology continues to advance, the need for clear regulations and oversight to protect citizens' rights becomes increasingly urgent.