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Residents demand audits, rescission of mayor's emergency for Flock ALPR cameras
Summary
Multiple residents urged the council to rescind the mayor's emergency declaration that funded Flock ALPR cameras, asking for audits of who accessed the Flock database and for evidence of public-safety benefits; speakers cited FOIL delays, national examples where cities rescinded contracts, and concerns about nonlocal access to license-plate data.
During a public forum at the close of the finance committee, residents and advocates requested that the city reverse an emergency declaration used to authorize payment for Flock automated license-plate reader (ALPR) services and produce audits showing how the system is being used.
Speakers including Deirdre Shay, Francis Sweet and others told the council they have not seen audits showing which agencies have accessed Troy’s Flock data, how many investigations used Flock results, or whether due process rules govern database queries. Shay and other advocates raised reports that nonlaw-enforcement entities and distant agencies (the Saratoga Springs transparency portal and investigative reporting about Florida Fish and Wildlife using Flock national-search features for immigration-related queries) have accessed ALPR data in ways that worry residents.
Several speakers faulted the mayor’s use of repeated emergency declarations to bypass procurement review and said withholding of contract records in response to FOIL requests has hampered public oversight — noting that the full Flock contract was only disclosed before a council meeting after FOIL requests and that some earlier FOIL responses returned incomplete materials.
Speakers asked the mayor and police to produce logs or audits showing who used the national-search feature, whether access is paused, and what crimes were solved using the system. They cited a recent small-city example (Oshkosh, Wis.) where a council rescinded a Flock contract after vendor testimony conflicted with police statements, as evidence that municipal oversight is warranted.
Council members did not vote on the subject during the meeting. Several asked for more information; members of the public asked the administration to meet with community groups and provide formal audits and transparency measures.
