Resident raises privacy concerns as Trenton council renews Flock Safety license-plate reader contract
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Summary
A resident urged the council to clarify how license-plate-reader (LPR) data is shared with federal agencies before renewing the city's Flock Safety agreement; Chief Hawkins responded that federal access is disabled by default and the council approved the renewal for about $29,000.
Jackson, a Trenton resident who said he lives at 116 Saint Joseph Street, told the council during public comment that he was concerned about how license-plate-reader (LPR) data gathered under the city's Flock Safety program could be shared with federal agencies and asked the council and mayor to clarify the city's past and planned practices around cross-agency access, retention, and oversight.
Chief Hawkins, speaking for the Trenton Police Department, answered questions about the system during the meeting. He said the department "currently share[s] with 262 agencies across the country. Not 1 of them is a federal agency." He added that federal agencies are not part of a statewide or national lookup network, that federal sharing is set to "default off" for every local police department, and that searches tied to immigration and reproductive-care related queries are automatically blocked. Hawkins said the department has a written policy (referenced as policy 4.1.0.3) recognizing public privacy rights, limits use of the system to law-enforcement criminal investigations, and forbids use to harass or target individuals or protected groups. He said data retention for LPR downloads is limited to 30 days, officers must complete specific training and include their names and reasons when running searches, and quarterly browsing audits are conducted by the traffic sergeant.
Jackson had urged the council to ensure "strong policies are in place governing cross agency data access, retention, and sharing" before renewing the partnership. Hawkins said the cameras have been a useful tool in stalking, officer-involved-shooting, stolen-vehicle, missing-runaway and larceny investigations and described LPRs as "the single greatest tool that we have at our resource right now for solving crimes." He encouraged anyone with follow-up questions to speak with police staff after the meeting.
The council approved the recommended renewal of the Flock LPR camera project, with the police department indicating the budgeted renewal cost at roughly $29,000 to $29,500. The motion was moved, supported, and the mayor said it was "unanimously so ordered." The renewal will remain subject to any further policy or contract reviews the council or city attorneys recommend.
Next steps: The council did not set a separate public hearing on the contract; Chief Hawkins invited continued discussion outside the meeting.