Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Surveillance Cameras topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents demand review of Milford— LPR and speed-camera program; board agrees to study
Summary
Dozens of Milford residents urged aldermen to pause the city—wide license-plate reader and speed-camera program, citing privacy, security, and oversight gaps; the board agreed to add a pause-and-review resolution to the September agenda and tabled formal action after a roll-call vote.
Dozens of residents urged the Milford Board of Aldermen on Aug. 3 to pause and review the city—wide automated license-plate reader (ALPR) and related speed and red-light camera programs, saying the deployments create a searchable record of daily movements and lack independent oversight.
"These systems create a searchable database of everyone's movements," said Sarah Wood, a longtime resident, arguing that ALPRs and vendor-managed video systems have scope and retention that go far beyond traffic enforcement. Multiple speakers echoed concerns about vendor access, national sharing, and the potential for misuse in civil or criminal discovery.
Supporters of an immediate pause pointed to recent actions in other Connecticut towns. "Killingworth paid $14,600 a year for just 4 units and pulled them; Windsor has kept its cameras off," Tracy Ambrizecchio said, citing local examples and saying Milford's deployment includes dozens of ALPRs and hundreds of cameras. Several speakers named Flock Safety ("Flock") and Ultimate, saying contracts and sharing arrangements require public review.
Speakers raised legal and technical objections as well. "The searchable database is powerful enough to be evidenced in court," said Charlene Merced, a family-law attorney, who said she intends to use FOIA and subpoenas to examine how data is discoverable. Cybersecurity practitioners testified that some camera configurations are insecure and could be exploited.
The public push culminated in a drafted resolution read into the record that would impose an immediate moratorium on new installations, activations and citations and direct a 90-day comprehensive review by the ordinance committee. Alderman Smith the 3rd moved to add that resolution to the evening's agenda. After board debate on language and scope the item was added and then, following further procedural motions, tabled to the September meeting by an 8-6 roll-call vote.
What happens next: the resolution will appear on the September agenda for further consideration; the board also directed staff and committee members to use the public input and law-enforcement materials presented during the Aug. 3 meeting when preparing next steps.
