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Norwalk approves MOU and agreement to join county Flock Safety camera network
Summary
The council approved a memorandum of understanding with the Warren County Attorney to join a county Flock Safety license‑plate‑reading camera network and authorized the police chief to sign the Flock Safety agreement; costs are partially covered by the county for two years.
The Norwalk City Council approved a memorandum of understanding Thursday so the city can join a Warren County Flock Safety network and authorized the police chief to enter a contract with Flock Safety for camera deployment.
Under the MOU, the Warren County attorney’s office will fund roughly 75% of system costs for the first two years, staff said. Council also approved a separate resolution authorizing the police chief to sign the Flock Safety service agreement; staff said the first‑year cost is covered in the current budget by deferring an upgrade to officer leather gear and the second‑year cost (about $3,000) will be requested in next year’s budget. The council said it will review and approve any third‑year costs before the city continues funding beyond year two.
Police staff described operational benefits observed by nearby departments: automatic license‑plate alerts have helped locate missing persons, connect vehicles to hit‑and‑run incidents and speed investigative searches by identifying vehicles traveling through the area. The chief said Flock retains raw data for 30 days and provides targeted extracts to agencies that request them; the department retains extracts obtained for investigations according to records rules.
Privacy and oversight remarks: the police chief noted that cameras do not capture vehicle characteristics beyond the plate and said Westcom and other regional partners can share alerts when agencies participate. Council discussion raised privacy concerns generally; staff emphasized retention and access controls in the vendor model.
The council approved both the MOU with the Warren County Attorney and the chief’s authority to sign the contract by roll call votes recorded as yes for Brown, Meineke and Baker.
Ending: Staff said they plan four cameras to meet Flock participation thresholds and will coordinate access with county and Westcom partners once Norwalk’s cameras are live.
