Residents urge Glenwood Springs to restrict ALPR and speed cameras; police say access is controlled

Dozens of minutes of public comment on Feb. 5 focused on automated license-plate readers (ALPR) operated through a vendor partnership and on the city’s speed-camera program. Four speakers — Zody Woolsey, Tracy Zabel, Maya Hunt and Dawn Dexter — urged the City Council to suspend or tighten oversight of the systems, citing privacy risks, reported audit findings in other cities and a perceived threat to vulnerable residents.

“My name is Zody Woolsey. I live in Glenwood Springs, and I’m here to make some comments about the discussions regarding the flock cameras and just other cameras for ALPRs in general,” said Zody Woolsey, who identified themself as a software engineer, and urged public audits and stronger accountability. Speaker Tracy Zabel referenced audits she said showed law-enforcement access in other jurisdictions: "Denver cameras had been accessed more than 1,400 times for that express purpose in a matter of 13 months," and called data-sharing risks “not proactive” if the city waits to sever contracts after a breach.

Dawn Dexter, who said her family frequently passes through the city, urged immediate termination of the speed-camera program and deletion of collected data, calling automated surveillance a civil-liberties threat for “vulnerable community members.” Maya Hunt urged council members to consider the current national context for immigration enforcement when weighing surveillance contracts.

Police Chief John Hassell responded to the comments in detail. He drew a technical distinction between the ALPR vendor (Flock Safety) and the speed-camera vendor, said Flock systems retain information for 30 days under current practice, and stated, “So if anyone were able to get into our system, it was because we gave permission to do that.” Hassell said in October the department revoked out-of-state and federal agency access requests it had previously accepted, and that the department is preparing a public-facing page where residents can see who has permission to access camera data. He also invited residents to contact the department to view non-CJIS materials and to ask questions in person.

Council members said staff will bring a more detailed contract review back to the dais next month and that councilors and staff are reviewing ways to tighten contract language and audit standards. The mayor’s office and police department asked the public to consult the recording of the earlier working session for additional context.

The council did not take a formal vote on camera policy at the meeting but scheduled the topic for future consideration with proposed contract revisions to be presented in March.