WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — Westchester County's Real Time Crime Center has become an important tool for law enforcement across the region, but a new lawsuit filed by civil rights advocates contends that the technology the program relies on is a clear violation of privacy.
The NYCLU said it is filing a class action lawsuit challenging the legality of the Westchester County Police Department's vehicle surveillance system, which it says is one of the largest, most technologically advanced systems in the country.
"Right now, the WCPD is collecting and storing enormous swathes of highly personal data—which makes it easy for police officers and the government to track where drivers work, who they meet, where they pray, and even which doctors they visit," the organization said in a statement. "Police departments cannot unilaterally decide to surveil the daily movements of its own citizens without any real accountability, transparency, or oversight."
The NYCLU said it is working with the Policing Project at New York University School of Law, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, and Freshfields LLP, to fight back against the alleged abuse of power.
The county has nearly 600 license plate readers, and has a database of 1.6 billion plate scans that has been shared with outside law enforcement agencies, including ICE, according to a recent AP report.
The county has in the past credited the system with helping to stop crimes in progress, and taking dangerous criminals off the streets, but officials have so far not commented on the new legal challenge.
"Westchester County has not yet received or reviewed the lawsuit referenced," a spokesperson for the county told the AP.
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