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Athens resident raises Flock camera security concerns; commissioners request contract memo and chief's assurances
Summary
At the June 9 meeting a resident, Tuesday Deer, urged the commission to treat vulnerabilities in Flock license-plate readers as a neighborhood-security and privacy issue, alleging employee access incidents. Commissioners asked the manager to provide a memo about contract terms and the sheriff/chief to summarize access controls; staff said the county scrubs certain footage every 30 days.
A Athens resident warned the commission on June 9 that vulnerabilities in the county’s Flock license-plate reader system pose a privacy and security risk and urged officials to treat access controls as a public-safety and civil-rights issue.
During public comment, Tuesday Deer (Athens, Clarke County) said cybersecurity researchers and vulnerability databases (as cited in her remarks) show multiple security weaknesses in license-plate readers and associated mobile apps, and she alleged that Flock Safety business-development staff accessed cameras inside a community center in Atlanta in 2025. She asked the commission to treat the risk as a breach of neighborhood security rather than simply a crime-reduction tool.
Commissioners subsequently asked the manager’s office to provide written clarification of contract terms and assurances about who can access footage and under what circumstances. Manager Bob Cowell said he would obtain and share a response from the chief; Commissioner Fischer reported that the county has roughly 300 government-linked Flock cameras (with additional privately linked cameras owned by businesses or residences), that the chief’s office scrubs footage on a 30-day schedule and that staff perform periodic review steps to guard against misuse.
What the commission will do: The manager committed to producing a memo summarizing contract terms and chief-provided assurances about access controls and data-retention practices; commissioners said they want clarity about how and when outside agencies or vendors may obtain footage and under what legal process (for example, by warrant).
