MapQuest Adds Map Layer for Surveillance Cameras

MapQuest has added a Surveillance layer to its mapping app showing reported locations of known outdoor cameras and license plate readers, including devices made by Flock Safety and other manufacturers. Users can switch on the layer in the app’s map options, alongside traffic and incident views. The feature marks camera locations with icons. A reporter who tested it in one city and county saw markers with coordinates and device types, such as dome and fixed cameras, but did not see the names of the companies that own them. That test confirms what appeared in one area, not the completeness or accuracy of the map elsewhere. MapQuest’s announcement said the layer includes license plate readers from Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions Vigilant, Genetec, Axis Communications, Axon, Leonardo ELSAG, Neology, Rekor, PlateSmart, Ubicquia and Verkada, as well as other outdoor cameras. The app does not, based on the available reporting, identify the owner of each marker to users. How MapQuest obtains, verifies and updates the locations has not been explained in the supplied reporting. Some reports say users can contribute locations they spot, but the company’s announcement, as reproduced in...