The plans also anticipate two camera devices in Cranston, one in East Greenwich, one in Richmond, two in Johnston, where traffic moves between Interstate 295 and Route 5.

State police are pursuing four devices in Providence, including on Route 10, Route 146 and Interstate 95, and at least one device in a more rural location on Route 165 in Exeter.

State police outreach to cities and towns

Alboum said his outreach to town and city officials for approval is in response to guidance from the company that was chosen to supply the license plate-reading system.

That company, Flock Safety, already provides license plate-reading capabilities to many Rhode Island cities and towns.

Alboum said he has initial approvals from 20 cities and towns and as of Jan. 9.

Have any towns denied the request to install Flock cameras?

The Warren Town Council rejected the proposal. Opponents of the systems, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, have argued that the technology supports excessive surveillance by police and infringes on privacy.

Noting that private surveillance cameras are everywhere already, proponents of license plate reading devices say the systems provide a valuable public safety service that checks on the plates of passing motor vehicles and notifies police when one of those vehicles has been flagged.

For example, a car might be associated with a person wanted on a warrant or someone who is a missing person. Or the vehicle itself might be stolen. In those situations, the resulting Flock “hit” can alert police stop the car and investigate if they move quickly enough.

The plate data that does not trigger a flag resides in the system for 30 days, and access to that data is sufficiently controlled and regulated, supporters say. Only investigators with special clearances can run searches.

How data from plate reading system helped police find mass shooter

After the mass shooting at Brown University in December, when investigators became interested in a Nissan with a Florida plate, they ran searches within Providence’s license plate reading system.

Eventually, they identified a blue Nissan with a Florida plate that a Flock device detected near Whole Foods in Providence.

Information on the car’s plate then helped investigators determine that someone who fit the profile of the suspected mass shooter, Claudio Neves Valente, had rented the vehicle, authorities say.

The vehicle itself had not triggered a Flock hit when it passed through. Investigators had to search for it within the Flock system after they became interested in that type of car.

Plate data that flows into the cameras proposed by state police will be “permanently deleted” after 30 days, according to police.