<
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/17/license-plate-surveillance-logs-reveal-racist-policing-against-romani-people/>
"More than 80 law enforcement agencies across the United States have used
language perpetuating harmful stereotypes against Romani people when searching
the nationwide Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) network,
according to audit logs obtained and analyzed by the Electronic Frontier
Foundation.
When police run a search through the Flock Safety network, which links
thousands of ALPR systems, they are prompted to leave a reason and/or case
number for the search. Between June 2024 and October 2025, cops performed
hundreds of searches for license plates using terms such as “roma” and “g*psy,”
and in many instances, without any mention of a suspected crime. Other uses
include “g*psy vehicle,” “g*psy group,” “possible g*psy,” “roma traveler” and
“g*psy ruse,” perpetuating systemic harm by demeaning individuals based on
their race or ethnicity.
These queries were run through thousands of police departments’ systems—and it
appears that none of these agencies flagged the searches as inappropriate.
These searches are, by definition, racist."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
