A handful of Oregon towns have turned off a powerful surveillance tool that scans and catalogs license plate data over fears the data will be used to arrest immigrants or invade people’s privacy.

In Washington County, however , Sheriff Caprice Massey assured residents the data, harvested using a brand of digital camera called Flock, is securely stored and being used to crack down on organized shoplifting rings.

“These cameras are not surveillance tools for broad monitoring,” Massey told commissioners during a Tuesday meeting. “They are strategically deployed to investigate and deter property and theft related crimes.”

The Sheriff drew a distinction between automatic license plate cameras, which run continuously, and what she said was a non-automatic version her deputies use, which

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