Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Surveillance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents urge council to explain Flock Safety cameras and privacy protections
Summary
Public commenters and teenage residents told Beacon council they are alarmed by Flock Safety license‑plate readers in town and asked for clearer rules; council members said data are stored locally, restricted by policy, and pledged a police chief briefing and county participation.
Public comment opened the meeting with repeated concerns about Flock Safety cameras and the reach of automated surveillance.
"Beacon has 6 FLOC cameras, and I want everyone to be fully aware of their capabilities and what is at risk with them," said Avelina Eric Simone, a 15‑year‑old Beacon resident who described Flock as a third‑party data broker and cited research she said showed unsecured camera archives. Several other speakers urged limits on camera use and asked the council to consider regulations for drones and other surveillance tools.
City staff and council members responded by pointing to existing controls. The city administrator said city‑controlled systems store data locally and restrict access, and that the police department maintained a Flock FAQ on the department website. "I believe all of the FLOT cameras are only license plate readers. We don't have any face recognition technology anywhere in the city when it comes to the flock cameras that the city is responsible for," a council member said during the exchange and suggested inviting Chief Figlia to answer residents' technical questions in public.
The council agreed to pursue a public briefing from the police chief and to invite county representatives to clarify which nearby cameras are county or commercial systems. Residents asked for a formal review of policies and stronger protections so that people who speak at public meetings do not face private outreach afterward.
