Himmelreich Quoted in Central Current Article on Syracuse’s Use of License Plate Readers

August 27, 2024

Central Current

Johannes Himmelreich

Public Administration & International Affairs Department

Autonomous Systems Policy Institute

Campbell Public Affairs Institute

Data Privacy

New York State

State & Local

Central Current

Johannes Himmelreich

When Syracuse’s Common Council greenlit the city’s use of Flock license plate readers, a majority of councilors did not know of research that found the readers regularly spit out incorrect information. In addition to the mistakes, experts are concerned about the city's 30-day data retention period and that Flock has promoted its data sharing.

Longer storage periods open the data up to potential hacks and misuse, says Johannes Himmelreich, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs and senior research associate in the Autonomous Systems Policy Institute. “Even if SPD is doing everything right, and I expect them to do everything right, the vendor might have their own policies or data leaks that might be problematic,” he says.