Latest MapQuest update reveals automated license plate reader networks

MapQuest has introduced a new feature to its free mapping service that allows users to locate known automated license plate readers and other public surveillance cameras.

What we know:

The company announced the update Thursday on social media, sharing instructions for accessing the feature after a series of Halloween-themed teasers hinting at something "spooky." One post posed the question, "Ever feel like somebody’s watching you?"

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Dig deeper:

Dubbed "The Roads Have Eyes," the feature allows users to view the reported locations of license plate readers operated by providers including Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions, Genetec, Axis Communications, Axon and Leonardo, along with other outdoor surveillance cameras.

By turning on the Surveillance Layer in the Map Options portion of the software, the map will reveal each location shown by an eyeball icon. 

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Debate on Flock cameras

Big picture view:

Flock has been used to help find missing seniors, catch car thieves, and provide evidence in high-profile criminal cases. 

The other side:

Despite its successes, more than 50 agencies or jurisdictions have canceled, suspended or rejected a contract or deactivated their cameras since the beginning of the year, according to a tracker maintained by DeFlock, a grassroots group formed to track the use of license plate reader technology and push back against it. Cameras around the country have also been vandalized.

Abuses have also drawn widespread attention. The Washington Post reported earlier this summer finding nearly 50 instances of police officers charged or accused of using the cameras for unauthorized purposes, many for tracking current or former romantic partners or family members.
 

The Source: This story was written with information provided by social media accounts from MapQuest and previous reporting by LiveNOW from FOX. This story was reported from Orlando.