People install ring cameras which record me walking past. Those cameras then push the data to private companies for processing, and are made available to police on a simple request.

ANPR has been a thing for 30 years. Is America just slow on the uptake? Even then it looks like they've been in use for a long time there.

>and are made available to police on a simple request.

That's a "santa claus for adults" rumor.

Ring only complies with requests that they are legally obligated to. Otherwise users need to voluntarily share the footage, which more often than not they do.