An AI system scanned a database of 1. 6 billion New York license plates over a two-year period and identified a car traveling along a drug-trafficking route, showing patterns associated with narcotics trafficking. The vehicle belonged to David Zayas, a convicted drug dealer from Massachusetts, who made nine trips between Massachusetts and New York City, as well as the neighboring suburbs in Westchester County. These trips were tracked by hundreds of license plate readers (LPRs), according to federal court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital. On March 10, 2022, Westchester County police pulled Zayas over for minor traffic infractions, such as changing lanes without signaling and speeding 15 mph over the limit. What seemed like an ordinary traffic stop turned into a federal drug trafficking case and shed light on the police force's reliance on an AI-powered surveillance program called "Rekor Scout. " Zayas' lawyer, Ben Gold, questioned the program's legality without any judicial oversight. According to federal court filings, Zayas had been driving the same route from Massachusetts to New York between August 2020 and March 2022. During the traffic stop, police discovered 112 grams of crack cocaine, a semi-automatic pistol, and $34, 000 in cash hidden in the car. The case uncovered the use of the AI-powered analytic software "Rekor Scout" by the county police. The software utilizes AI-driven license plate readers (LPRs) and vehicle recognition to enhance public safety. Interestingly, the original criminal complaint and indictment did not mention the use of LPRs or AI by law enforcement. This information was revealed by Gold through a public records request. He discovered that Westchester County Police's Real Time Crime Center operates one of the largest automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) databases in the country.

The surveillance program consists of at least 480 LPRs, which scan and record around 16. 2 million vehicles per week. The data is stored for two years. In a motion to suppress evidence, Gold argued that "the breadth of this LPR system is spectacular and amounts to a warrantless search. " He emphasized that without any judicial oversight, the government can learn the precise location histories of almost anyone traveling on major roads in Westchester County. Gold further contended that these searches were conducted without any reason to believe a crime had occurred or to suspect Mr. Zayas of committing a crime. He expressed concerns about the invasion of privacy resulting from the combination of high-powered technology, quick processing with AI, and the two-year data storage. Gold also sought information about the locations of these cameras, but this part of the public records request was denied, although the county acknowledged that the locations change frequently. He speculated that the scope of this surveillance network is likely even larger than reported, as the Real Time Crime Center shares data with other local departments and has access to a national database with an unknown number of records. Gold argued that searching Mr. Zayas's two-year location history represents a search of unprecedented magnitude, capable of jeopardizing the level of privacy against government intervention that existed when the Fourth Amendment was adopted. After Gold filed his motion on March 10, 2023, federal prosecutor Damian Williams stated that the two sides were close to reaching a plea agreement. Zayas officially pleaded guilty last month and is currently awaiting sentencing. Stay informed with the latest news stories from the most influential news source, delivered to your inbox every morning.