A dispute over surveillance is playing out in acts of destruction on the eastern end of Long Island. Privacy concerns are escalating on the North Fork, where Southold Town Police say they are investigating several acts of vandalism to the town's license plate reading cameras.
The targeted devices are spread across two North Fork communities. The cameras that have been vandalized are located in Greenport and East Marion.
The first act of vandalism came around the July 4th holiday. One of the cameras had its wiring ripped out over the July 4th weekend.
Others were defaced rather than dismantled. Two more of the cameras had paint splattered on them.
The most recent incident was more forceful. Just this week, one of the cameras was knocked down and run over by a car.
The devices, which collect data on every vehicle that drives by, have been stirring surveillance controversy nationwide. A police official said that while people's concerns and questions about the cameras should not be dismissed, there are more constructive and responsible ways to express that frustration.
The reach of the program extends well beyond the vandalized units. Southold police have 11 of these cameras, and a group opposed to them has published a map showing all of their locations across Long Island, while the company that owns the cameras says it deletes all of the data after 30 days.