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Sheriff's office accepts GIVe grant funding for Flock camera system; committee asks vendor briefing
Summary
The Public Safety Committee authorized the Sheriff's Office to accept the Gun-Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) grant for 2025–26 and earmarked the funds for Flock Safety camera equipment and associated software and maintenance; legislators requested a vendor presentation on policy and safeguards.
Tompkins County's Public Safety Committee voted unanimously on Aug. 26 to accept a 2025–26 Gun-Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) grant that will fund Flock Safety camera equipment, software, installation and maintenance for the Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff Derek Osborne said the county has received the GIVE grant in prior years and the current award—about the same level as previous years—will cover the agency’s contracted annual fees and equipment for the Flock Safety license-plate-reading and camera system. "The department equipment is for the flock safety equipment," the sheriff said.
The motion to accept the grant was made by Lee and seconded by Mike; the committee approved the resolution unanimously. Several legislators asked for a public briefing by Flock Safety's representatives to discuss usage policies and safeguards. "It would be great if we could have a presentation by their representatives here, so that we could ask them questions and perhaps hold them accountable on record," legislator Shauna said.
Sheriff Osborne said the county has a public policy posted online and has limited Flock access to New York State agencies in an effort to reduce external access. "We have procedures in place where people have to enter a case number to run a report and it's gotta match our criteria based on our policy," he said, and offered to have Flock representatives return for questions.
Next steps: staff will arrange for a presentation by Flock Safety, per committee requests. The grant acceptance allows the Sheriff's Office to proceed with procurement and payment under the existing contract and policy framework.
