Drivers react to MapQuest new ‘surveillance layer’
THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) — MapQuest, a digital mapping service, launched a new feature in its mobile app Oct. 15 that allows drivers to see automated license plate readers and other cameras on their maps and along their routes.
The company announced the feature Thursday on social media platform BlueSky.
“The roads have eyes,” MapQuest wrote. “Turn on the Surveillance Layer in Map Options to see known license plate readers from Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions (Vigilant), Genetec, Axis Communications, Axon, Leonardo (ELSAG), Neology, Rekor, PlateSmart, Ubicquia, Verkada and other outdoor surveillance cameras.”
The surveillance feature is currently restricted to MapQuest's mobile application. Users access the data by opening the application, selecting the layers icon and choosing the surveillance cameras option to display nearby camera locations on the map interface.
Law enforcement officials expressed surprise regarding the tool. Lt. Michael Torres of the Palm Springs Police Department said he was not previously aware of the mapping layer.
“We had no idea that was going to be coming. I at least didn't,” Torres said. “But I guess the question is for Google or MapQuest, whoever decided to do this, what the intent is...”
Torres expressed other concerns like criminals using this feature to pre-meditate an "escape plan."
“If a criminal were to have decided to commit a crime in any city that contains these cameras… potentially they could find a potential getaway route… in order to get away with the crime,” Torres said.
But Desert Hot Springs resident Joshua Handrich offered a different perspective, arguing that motorists deserve to know where surveillance infrastructure is located.
“Everyone who lives here and who drives past them day to day, going to work, going to visit Grandma, whatever it is, they deserve to know how they're being used, where they are and why we think they're required,” Handrich said.
The Coachella Valley has more than 700 automated license plate readers spread across eight of its nine cities, giving the region one of the highest camera-to-person ratios in California.
