Police officers in the US are using AI surveillance cameras to stalk their partners and ex-partners.

Flock Safety’s automated license plate readers (ALPRs), used by law enforcement agencies across the country, capture images of passing cars and store location data and timestamps in searchable databases, allowing police to track people’s movements without a warrant.

According to analysis from the non-profit Institute for Justice, there have been at least 18 recent cases in which officers are alleged to have accessed ALPR data to “to keep tabs on their romantic interests, including current partners, exes and even strangers who unwittingly caught their eye in public”.

The public interest law firm noted that the 18 cases listed are likely an undercount, as “not all police misconduct gets detected, and some cases likely get resolved quietly”.

One police officer, Jarmarus Brown of Orange City, Florida, allegedly used ALPRs to stalk his girlfriend and her family members more than 100 times over seven months. Brown was arrested and charged in 2025.

Another, former Milwaukee officer Josue Ayala, looked up the license plate of someone he was dating more than 120 times. He pleaded guilty to one misdemeanour count of attempted misconduct in public office last week.

“The fundamental problem with these systems is that they place private information about people’s movements over time in the hands of every officer,” said Michael Soyfer, an Institute for Justice attorney.

“Without the constitutional safeguard of a warrant requirement, that predictably allows officers to abuse their access to these systems for things like stalking romantic partners.”

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