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Resident raises privacy concerns over 'Flock' cameras; city says it's complying with new state law
Summary
A resident told the council the city's Flock camera contract lacks transparency and risks civil‑liberties violations; the city administrator responded that the contract was not rolled out until after the state law and that the city is in compliance with reporting and accountability requirements.
A North Bend resident raised privacy and transparency concerns about the city’s use of automated license‑plate and related camera systems commonly known by the vendor name Flock.
Greg Chisum told the council he believed the purchase and rollout lacked safeguards, citing ACLU research alleging that license‑plate camera programs can violate constitutional rights and be used to target low‑income residents. He said the city’s contract states data is owned by the North Bend Police Department but questioned whether the data actually remains under local control, whether it is retained indefinitely and whether it may be shared with other agencies.
Chisum asked the council to adopt community‑control provisions and pointed to Oregon Senate Bill 1516 as an example of statutory accountability measures. The transcript shows he urged audits, public reporting of searches and greater transparency about data access and retention.
The city administrator responded in the meeting that the city did not implement the contract prior to the state law taking effect and that the city is in compliance with the new reporting and accountability obligations; staff committed to follow up with the commenter. The transcript does not show the council adopting new surveillance policy or amending the contract on the spot.
The transcript records the concerns and the city’s assurance of compliance; it does not include contract language, retention schedules or a public‑facing audit report.
