Right now, automated cameras are recording your license plate every time you drive past one — logging where you were, when you were there, and what your car looks like. That data is stored in a searchable database shared with law enforcement agencies across the country.

This is happening in all five counties of Maryland's 6th Congressional District. Most residents have no idea.

The technology is called Flock Safety. It's marketed as a public safety tool. But in county after county, it has been deployed without public debate, without written oversight policies, and without any meaningful accountability to the people it surveils.

We don't know how long your data is stored. We don't know who can search it. We don't know whether a warrant is required. We don't know if it's being shared with federal immigration authorities. There are no public answers to any of these basic questions — because no county has been required to provide them.

That ends now.

We, the residents of Maryland's 6th Congressional District, call on the County Executives and County Councils of Allegany, Garrett, Washington, Frederick, and Montgomery Counties to take the following immediate steps:

1. Suspend any expansion of ALPR camera networks pending the adoption of a public oversight policy.
2. Hold a public hearing in each county where residents can learn how the system works, who has access to their data, and what protections — if any — are in place.
3. Adopt a binding public oversight policy that includes, at minimum:
   • Data deletion within 7 days unless tied to a documented criminal investigation
   • A warrant requirement for retroactive location searches
   • Documented justification for every database query
   • Annual public reporting on system use
   • Independent audits
   • A prohibition on use for minor traffic infractions
   • A prohibition on use for federal immigration enforcement

Public safety and civil liberties are not in conflict. Accountability is not optional. We are your constituents — and we are watching.