Fountain Police Report 15 Cases Tied to Flock Cameras; Officials Stress No Facial Recognition or Speeding Enforcement
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Summary
Police chief reported 15 cases since February tied to Flock license‑plate cameras, including several recovered stolen vehicles and leads in burglaries and other crimes. City officials and council members addressed privacy concerns and said the system does not use facial recognition and the database is retained only for limited periods.
Fountain’s police chief told the City Council on May 13 that the city’s Flock automated license‑plate camera system has supported about 15 cases since February, including seven or eight recovered stolen vehicles and leads that helped solve burglaries, felony thefts and other crimes.
“We've recovered about 7 or 8 stolen vehicles, returned those to their owners,” the chief said, adding that the cameras provided a suspect‑vehicle location in a recent Blossom Field shooting investigation. The chief said the system has helped detect criminals passing through Fountain and produce leads that officers otherwise might not have had.
Council members and the chief addressed community concerns about privacy. Council members emphasized that the cameras do not perform facial recognition, are not used for speed enforcement, and do not automatically create permanent datasets of citizens. One council member said the collected license‑plate data is deleted every 30 days unless explicitly preserved as evidence in an active case.
The chief said the department plans to publish a fact‑and‑fiction article with the city PIO to address rumors and clarify how the cameras are used. He also noted that three local businesses and at least one homeowners association currently operate compatible camera systems and sometimes share footage with police at their request.
The council discussion stressed the cameras’ role in stolen‑vehicle recovery and crime solving, while acknowledging community concerns about civil liberties. The chief said the system is still being brought fully online for all camera locations but is already providing investigatory value.
