Resident urges county to hold town hall on ALPR data sharing and Flock practices

James Simmons spoke during the public-comment period about automated license-plate readers (ALPRs) and their privacy implications, urging the commission to host a public town-hall that includes law enforcement and city officials.

Simmons warned that "that data's in their servers, on their hard drives" and asked what vendors such as Flock do with the data and with whom they share it. He referenced a recent South Dakota Attorney General announcement acknowledging misuse risks and a public apology by Flock'9s CEO. Simmons also noted that the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigations is rolling out a statewide ALPR program and that Aberdeen declined to participate after public concern.

He asked whether Codington County would enroll in the statewide program, what equipment or additional cameras that would mean locally, and who (state or federal actors) would gain access to the collected data. Simmons asked the commission to attend a proposed town hall to hear a two-way discussion with law enforcement and the public.

Chair thanked Simmons and said the commission welcomes the transparency. No immediate action was taken; the request for a town hall was noted for follow-up.