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Residents press Millcreek supervisors over Flock license‑plate cameras and expanded tracking capabilities
Summary
Multiple residents raised privacy and civil‑liberty concerns about Flock license‑plate readers installed at the Millcreek Mall and possible expansion of live‑tracking and device‑signature capture, urging stronger safeguards, transparent SOPs and public review; officials said access is currently limited and a standard‑operating‑procedure document is being drafted.
A prolonged citizens-to-be-heard period at the June 23 meeting focused on Flock license‑plate readers and new surveillance capabilities that residents said pose a privacy risk.
Several speakers — including Veronica Rexford, who identified herself as chair of the Erie City Sewer Authority, and community members Elaine Arosky and Caleb Rutschman — urged tighter controls and raised concerns about new Flock features such as live tracking and electronic device‑identifier capture that third‑party vendors are offering. "This creates a significant privacy concerns," Veronica Rexford said, describing the potential for AI‑enabled live tracking and capturing electronic signatures from devices inside vehicles.
Board members and staff described the current access arrangements: the license‑plate systems at the Millcreek Mall were installed by the property owner (Cafaro), and the systems can be accessed by licensed law‑enforcement partners. According to remarks from township officials at the meeting, Pennsylvania State Police and Millcreek Township Police have access now, and the police department is drafting standard operating procedures that will spell out who can access the system, under what circumstances and how use will be audited.
Speakers warned that policies alone have sometimes failed to prevent improper searches elsewhere, citing audits and investigations in other jurisdictions. "Policies were violated in numerous places as well," one resident said, urging the township to consider whether the technology should be limited or regulated locally rather than rely solely on SOPs.
Township officials said they would continue work on formal SOPs and that any future ordinance or zoning changes related to camera deployments would go through the Planning and zoning process. No board action on cameras or an ordinance took place at the June 23 meeting.
