Trump Backs Flock License Plate Cameras — But New Survey Reveals 47% Of Us Public Oppose Them As 3 Police Officers Are Arrested For Alleged 'misuse' Of The Tech

• US President Donald Trump says he supports Flock’s license plate cameras
• Most Americans oppose the installation of the devices, a survey suggests
• Several police officers have been arrested after abusing Flock tech

Flock’s automated license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras are continuing to hit the headlines, with the latest controversy being a series of arrests of police officers who were found to be misusing the tech for nefarious purposes. Yet some supportive comments from US President Donald Trump about Flock's cameras and a major new survey show the tech continues to be divisive, rather than unanimously rejected.

After an investigation by USA Today, at least three police officers have been arrested and a fourth was fired after the news outlet “alleged widespread Flock misuse,” which included repeatedly searching for and tracking individual vehicles that were not involved in any criminal activity.

However, it hasn't all been bad news for Flock this week. One significant supporter of the tech appears to be US President Donald Trump — when asked for his opinion on Flock aboard Air Force One, Trump responded that “I sort of like them because of that, because of law enforcement,” while adding that some people “think it’s an infringement.”

When a reporter suggested that Flock cameras “help catch a lot of criminals,” Trump said “I like them". A new survey, conducted for conducted for Reuters by the global market research and consultant firm Ipsos, also shows that while Flock cameras are broadly unpopular among the American public, there are some differences based on political persuasions.

Strong opposition to Flock

The Reuters survey polled 1,167 adults across the US and found that 47% of those questioned were opposed to the use of Flock cameras in their communities, while 38% were in favor. The remaining 16% said they were unsure.

The majority of Democrats and independents were against the cameras, as were almost all age groups, both male and female respondents, and both those with and without a college degree. However, Republicans and people aged 55 or above came out in favor of the use of Flock.

As for the police officer investigations, USA Today said they've led to at least 22 police officers being “arrested, fired, put on leave or placed under investigation” after they were found to have abused their access to Flock technology.

As a result of one officer in Columbus, Ohio being fired for searching for a single license plate 272 times without adequate reason, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said that the city will pause its use of Flock cameras “Until I can report out to the people of Columbus that this isn’t a more widespread issue, that this really is just one person or a few people misusing and abusing this technology.”