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Chief briefs council on school resource officer program and Flock camera use amid council questions on goals and data access
Summary
Council heard a detailed police update on the school resource officer (SRO) program—including positive feedback from schools—and the city's Flock license-plate and camera system. Council members asked for clearer MOU benchmarks for the SRO and sharper audit/guardrail language for camera queries; the chief invited members to review systems and submit specific recommendations for committee consideration.
Fairview Park's police chief described the city's school resource officer program and the Flock camera/plate-reader deployments at the local government and community services committee meeting on June 8. Multiple council members and school principals reported the SRO's presence is viewed positively in schools and parents appreciate the added sense of safety at events; the chief cited incidents where the SRO helped lock down a school and assist with threat investigations.
Councilmember Kim Mann asked for clearer, measurable goals and monthly reporting for the SRO; the chief said monthly reports are provided and that an annual end‑of‑year meeting with the superintendent and principals is scheduled. The chief described the program as community policing that builds trusted relationships so students and staff will report concerns and said the SRO also helps with security planning and emergency responses.
On the Flock camera and license-plate-reader system, the chief summarized deployments on city borders and at key corridors and cited investigative wins: locating stolen vehicles, finding endangered missing people and supporting robbery and overdose investigations. He said the cameras are paid from hotel-tax revenue and that the department conducts audits of searches to detect misuse. Council members pressed about which external agencies can query data, how search reasons are logged and what guardrails prevent searches for disallowed categories; the chief said some categories are blocked and that he will follow up on contract terms and reciprocity settings.
Council asked members with specific recommendations about the SRO MOU or Flock data-sharing to meet with the chief so those proposals can be developed and, if appropriate, returned to committee for formal consideration.
