Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy says his office has taken down its license-plate cameras after a series of vandalism incidents over the last several weeks, opting for a “cooling-off period” before putting them back up.
The last camera came down today, Murphy said. His office began removing the devices over roughly the past week and a half following vandalism that began about three weeks ago.
Murphy said his office took the cameras down because he expected the vandalism to continue. He intends to reinstall them after allowing time for the controversy to cool and for residents to better understand their investigative value.
“We’re at a point in society that if we don’t agree on something, we think it’s okay to destroy property,” Murphy said, describing common misperceptions about the technology that he believes is driving the vandalism. “People think, ‘We don’t like it. We think we know what it does. We don’t like government spying on us. And so we can destroy it.’ ”
Murphy said his department has used license-plate cameras since 2019, and he credited the system with helping investigators solve homicides and bank robberies and recover stolen cars.
“None of those things would have been possible without this system,” he said.
Murphy also addressed the privacy concerns some residents have raised but argued the cameras provide a valuable tool residents also expect police to use.
For starters, he said the cameras do not take images of people in public and instead photograph the backs of vehicles and their license plates. They do not show the driver of the vehicle, he said.
Murphy offered a hypothetical scenario to describe how his officers use the automatic license plate readers, known as ALPRs. For instance, he said, officers investigating a crime may learn that the suspect drove a red Ford F-150. His team will then search for vehicles matching that description during a defined time period, narrowing the possibilities for further investigation.
“It’s an investigative tool and it’s no different than an eyewitness,” the sheriff said. “People want us to solve crimes to protect them. You can’t have it both ways.”
Murphy contrasted concerns about police surveillance with the tracking associated with cellphones and online advertising, asserting that people already reveal information about themselves, their movements and their interests through the use of everyday technology.
Someone shopping for a car who visits a dealership may then see automobile ads.
“Guess what happens,” he asked rhetorically. “You start getting auto ads in your feed. Everybody’s concerned about their privacy. This is probably the least intrusive technology.”
Murphy said public acceptance ultimately comes down to trust. He acknowledged that some officers elsewhere have used the technology inappropriately.
“If that happens in my office, they’ll be on the unemployment line,” he said, stressing that his department has specific controls in place. Murphy noted that one of his lieutenants audits the department’s use monthly.
The vandalism extends beyond Livingston County. In neighboring Oakland County, officials reported damaged or disabled cameras in Birmingham, Novi, Pontiac, Waterford and West Bloomfield, FOX 2 reported Aug. 12. Several cameras in Waterford were torn from their mounts and smashed in February, leading to felony charges against a Clarkston man, the station reported.
Destroying the devices can carry a prison sentence. Under Michigan law, malicious destruction of personal property causing at least $1,000 but less than $20,000 in damage can bring a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine, or both.
Opponents of the cameras have also organized online. A public directory of Michigan organizing groups links to a “DeFlock Livingston County Group” on Signal. The Post has not reviewed that chat and has no evidence connecting its participants to the vandalism.
Murphy’s office is not the only local agency that has arranged for license-plate cameras, and Flock is not the only vendor involved.
Green Oak Township’s board unanimously approved a contract with Insight LPR in June 2024 for a two-camera system for its Police Department. A police memo supporting the purchase of an automatic licence plate reader said other county agencies used Insight and that choosing the same provider would allow Green Oak officers to search their cameras during investigations.
