Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Surveillance Privacy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident letter urges Olivette to cancel Flock license-plate-reader contract; police to brief council
Summary
A resident letter raised privacy and misuse concerns about Flock license-plate-reader cameras; the city's police representative said much of the letter was inaccurate and council asked the department to present details at a future meeting.
A written letter delivered to the Olivette City Council on June 23 urged the city to cancel its contract with Flock Safety, the license-plate-reader vendor. The letter, read aloud during the public-comment period, said the system creates a "massive national database" of movements, has been misused in other jurisdictions and presents privacy and security risks to residents.
The letter cited news reports and local policy decisions in other cities and concluded: "I encourage you to cancel our city's contract with flock safety and remove these cameras from the community to ensure the city safety and private privacy of residents and our neighbors." The letter was signed by Alyssa Rose.
Police department staff responded during the meeting, saying the letter contained inaccuracies and that the department can provide data and details to address concerns. The police representative stated the city has documentation from both Flock and internal operations that contradict parts of the nationwide letter. Council members requested a fuller briefing from the police department at an upcoming work session or council meeting to review how the system collects and uses data, what safeguards are in place, and for examples of local uses or benefits.
The council did not vote on the matter during the June 23 meeting; members said they want to hear the police department's presentation before making any contract decisions.
Quotes used in the meeting
- From the written letter: "This camera system creates a massive national database of all of our movements and allows departments and agencies across The US access to sensitive local location data for local residents without their knowledge, violating a reasonable expectation of privacy." (Alyssa Rose, read at the meeting) - From the police representative: "The majority of the letter that was read is entirely inaccurate." (police representative)
Council asked staff to schedule a presentation from the police department to explain local usage, data access and safeguards.
