Fact Check: "Police in Mount Prospect, 24 miles (39 kilometers) northwest of Chicago, shared license-plate data with the sheriff in Johnson County, Texas."
What We Know
Recent reports confirm that the Johnson County Sheriff's Department in Texas accessed license plate reader data from the Mount Prospect Police Department, located 24 miles northwest of Chicago. This access was facilitated through the National Lookup feature provided by Flock Safety, which allows various law enforcement agencies to access data from over 83,000 cameras nationwide, including those in Mount Prospect (NBC Chicago, Fox 32 Chicago).
The Illinois Secretary of State's Office indicated that this access was part of immigration enforcement efforts and was conducted without a proper data-sharing agreement, violating Illinois law (NBC Chicago, Statesman). Mount Prospect police were reportedly unaware of these searches until informed by the Secretary of State's investigation, which revealed that other agencies had conducted 262 immigration-related searches on Mount Prospect's data (NBC Chicago, ABC News).
Analysis
The claim that Mount Prospect police shared license plate data with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department is partially true but requires clarification. While the data was indeed accessed by the Texas sheriff's department, it was done through a national database feature without the explicit consent or knowledge of the Mount Prospect Police Department (Fox 32 Chicago, NBC Chicago). Chief of Police Michael Eterno emphasized that no member of the Mount Prospect Police Department willingly shared the data, highlighting that the misuse of this data violated community trust and Illinois law (NBC Chicago, Statesman).
The reliability of the sources is high, as they include statements from law enforcement officials and reports from established news organizations. However, the framing of the claim could lead to misunderstandings about the nature of the data access. It is crucial to note that while the data was accessed, it was not shared in the traditional sense, as there was no agreement in place, and the Mount Prospect Police Department was not aware of the access until it was revealed through an investigation (ABC News, Illinois News).
Conclusion
Verdict: True. The Johnson County Sheriff's Department in Texas accessed license plate data from Mount Prospect, but this was done without the Mount Prospect Police Department's knowledge or consent, constituting a violation of Illinois law. The claim accurately reflects the situation, albeit with nuances regarding the nature of the data access.
Sources
- Texas sheriff's office accessed Mount Prospect license ...
- Data shared with Texas officials acquired through national ...
- Illinois officials investigate license-plate data shared with ...
- Texas police 'abused' license plate data for immigration ...
- Illinois officials investigate license-plate data shared with ...
- Texas sheriff's office accessed Mount Prospect license ...
- Officials investigate license-plate data shared with police for ...
- Illinois officials: Texas police illegally accessed state ...
