DENVER — Thanks to a growing network of license plate reader cameras in the metro area, investigators were able to gather evidence against a suspected bank robber accused of using a stolen getaway vehicle that didn’t have a license plate.
The advancing license plate reader technology, which uses artificial intelligence, is proving helpful for local law enforcement agencies, but raises more concerns among privacy advocates who call the systems unchecked “mass surveillance.”
According to a federal criminal complaint filed in Colorado’s U.S. District Court, bank robbery investigators were able to capture a getaway vehicle on a license plate reader camera even without a license plate number.
The evidence is part of the criminal case against Nicholas Archuleta, 41, who is accused of robbing three metro area banks with a stolen Acura sedan that was initially captured on surveillance video in December 2023 during a bank robbery in Thornton.
The vehicle was stolen from a dealership before the robberies, according to court documents, and displayed the dealership’s logo.
Eventually, investigators plugged the make and color of the vehicle into the license plate reader software. The software was able to capture the same getaway vehicle on a license plate reader camera in Boulder minutes after another bank robbery last month.
Investigators “located images of a dark gray Acura sedan displaying the Victory Motors dealer applied decal and noted the vehicle appeared to be very similar to the Acura seen at the scenes of the bank robberies,” the criminal complaint says.
A company spokesperson for Flock Safety, a license plate reader manufacturer, said their system can track cars based on various characteristics, even if the vehicle doesn't have a license plate.
“The vehicle fingerprint software, which uses machine learning, is able to categorize the vehicles that it captures by things like the color, the make, the model of the vehicle, and then certain aftermarket alterations like a roof rack,” said Holly Beilin, spokesperson for Flock Safety.
Flock Safety is expected to contract with the City of Denver to provide 100 license plate reader cameras throughout the city as part of Mayor Mike Johnson's efforts to curb the city’s auto theft epidemic. The city said through a police spokesperson the contract has not been finalized yet.
Privacy advocates and civil rights groups have expressed concern about the license plate reader technology, saying the “mass surveillance” data is at risk to hackers and to bad police officers who may abuse the collected information for personal vendettas.
Anaya Robinson, a senior policy strategist at the ACLU in Colorado, said there is no oversight of the technology and laws haven’t caught up to protect the rights of citizens whose data is stored by police.
“I think we need to do a significantly better job of creating some forms of framework and some forms of accountability that don't yet exist,” Robinson said.
When asked about concerns of mass surveillance, Beilin said the data collected is “limited” and doesn’t contain information on people, only vehicles.
“Flock Safety doesn't own it, we can never sell it, we can never share it with any private third parties. And it's deleted by default every 30 days on a rolling basis,” Beilin said.
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