Lewiston resident urges pause and audit of Flock Safety license‑plate cameras over privacy and data‑security concerns
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Summary
A Ward 3 resident asked the council to halt data collection by two new Flock Safety automated license‑plate cameras pending a security audit and adoption of a public policy; she cited media reports of unsecured feeds and a pending federal probe and urged a transparency portal and search‑warrant protections for outside access.
At the start of the council's public comment period, Ward 3 resident Beth Ames raised privacy and civil‑liberties concerns about two recently installed automated license‑plate reader (ALPR) cameras operated by Flock Safety in her neighborhood.
Ames told the council the cameras are likely photographing all vehicles entering and exiting her neighborhood and said the system stores images in a cloud service. She cited recent media reporting that unsecured camera feeds were publicly accessible and said there is an active federal inquiry into Flock Safety's practices.
"Without a policy, there is virtually no oversight on how camera searches are conducted," Ames said, urging three steps: a neutral third‑party security audit of the Flock system, posting a transparency portal that details data collection and usage (as some other towns have done), and a suspension of data collection until the city adopts a publicly accessible policy. She also asked that any outside agency access the Lewiston database only with a search warrant.
City staff did not take action during the meeting; the item was recorded as public comment. Ames also said the ACLU has requested records related to the installation.
Next steps: Ames asked councilors to review and, if necessary, pressure the police department to revise or pause the contract with Flock Safety and to add policy safeguards before allowing continued collection or sharing of data.
