Residents urge scrutiny of county Flock/ALPR camera program, commission says city has limited authority

Public commenters on Monday pressed the Mount Clemens commission to demand more transparency and reconsider the use of automated license‑plate recognition (ALPR) and related cameras deployed in and around the city. Jill Murphy, who identified herself as a survivor of abuse, urged the commission to act.

"As a ****** abuse and assault survivor, I am asking and pleading you," Murphy said during the public‑comment period, asking the commission to "dig deeper and cancel that contract." She cited national examples in which law‑enforcement access to camera systems led to misuse and invasions of privacy.

Commissioners and staff responded that the specific vendor contract (referred to in testimony as "Flock" or the county FLAC system) is administered at the Macomb County level. A commissioner clarified that the city itself does not have direct authority to terminate the county contract, but said the city can raise concerns and request changes from the sheriff's office.

Resident Jeff Matthews, who followed Murphy at the microphone, cited reporting and statistics about large ALPR rollouts and questioned whether the systems produce the public‑safety benefits claimed by vendors.

"What they found is that murder rates, the clearance rates are actually falling," Matthews said, referring to reporting about another city's ALPR deployment and urging local leaders to weigh potential tradeoffs between automated surveillance and other policing practices.

What happens next: commissioners asked staff to follow up with the sheriff's office and to press for public‑facing information about how the camera system is used and what policies govern access. Residents who spoke asked for clear public reporting and a mechanism for the city to request changes from the county.