Flock cameras collect information at intersections.
Photo: Flock Safety
By Lee Burnett
Questions about privacy invasion and surveillance potential occupied city councilors Tuesday as they considered the deployment of law enforcement cameras at six Sanford intersections.
The Public Safety Committee took no action following the half-hour question and answer session. While Mayor Becky Brink announced her support for a 60-day trial, City Councilor Jonathan Martell and Springvale defense attorney Dagan Vandemark raised questions. The full City Council will take up the matter next.
Flock Safety is offering the city free use of 11 surveillance cameras for 60 days. Flock cameras are infrared-equipped license plate readers that can also capture vehicle make and model. The Flock cameras would be deployed at five Main Street intersections: at Lebanon Street, Washington Street, Emery Street and the Route 109 and Route 4 roundabout. The other location would be the Cottage and River Street intersection.
Flock representatives and Sanford police appeared well prepped to answer questions about privacy invasion and surveillance potential.
“We can’t hop on Flock any time,” Major Colleen Adams announced at the outset. “We have to have a call number and a reason … There has to be a criminal investigation.”
Flock representatives said they do not sell the data to third parties and in fact do nothing with the data themselves. “Harvesting data is not a practice in our contract,” explained Kameron Simmons, head of governmental affairs for Flock. Adams noted that “we own the data, we can choose who we share it with.” Exactly who it would be shared with is “in the discussion phase,” she said. Chief Small said he wanted to make clear, “I’m in favor of sharing Flock data with other agencies,” noting that other agencies all follow policies on use of data. Any data not saved for use in an investigation would be erased after 21 days, according to Flock. The system has a transparency portal allowing the public to monitor how often the cameras are accessed.
Small called the cameras “a force multiplier” bolstering the department’s ability to solve and deter crime. “This helps us be in the places we can’t be,” he said. He urged city councilors to allow the pilot program so police can “see how it works.”
Councilor Martell asked if the software is audited to ensure it is working as intended and about the need for the cameras. He said he wanted a breakdown of total costs. “Could this be used to track people at certain times?” he asked. “I see this as a Big Brother approach.”
Maj. Adams said she reviewed calls received during a 45-day period and found 14 incidents that either happened at one of the six intersections or in which suspects passed through the intersections. She highlighted one sensational case in which intersection cameras might have made a difference. In that case, police investigating a “vicious, vicious, disgusting crime” were delayed by six days in their investigation as they pieced together a vehicle description from video footage gathered from private security cameras.
“I don’t know if it will ever be solved because of the time it took,” she said.
Founded in 2017, Flock Safety of Atlanta is one of a few companies competing in the emerging surveillance field. Flock already has 80,000 cameras pointed at roads and parking lots around the country, according to Forbes magazine. Drones, gunshot detectors and streaming video services are also among their products. Clients include Lowe’s, FedEx and Simon Properties, the country’s largest mall owner.
If the city accepts the cameras after the trial, the cost for 11 cameras would be $23,000 per year, which includes maintenance. There is also a $3,350 installation cost. Martell pointed out there would also be some city staff time involved.
Small said he’d like to try the cameras and evaluate their utility. “Really we’re just asking for the pilot,” he said.
Brink said the cameras would help in the immediate aftermath of an incident. “Speed is one of the important things … So, we aren’t losing evidence. I think this is going to help,” she said. She applauded the department for exploring technology options as a cost-saver at a time when the city’s population growth is pushing budgets upward.
Defense attorney Dagan Vandemark said the cameras “worry me a lot” because of the potential for using cameras to stop people without sufficient legal reason.
“Being on the HotList, is that reason alone to stop someone?” Vandemark asked. The HotList is Flock Safety’s automated system of notifying Flock clients when certain vehicles wanted by other law enforcement agencies are entering their community. Flock representatives said the only allowed use for sending alerts through the Flock system are stolen vehicles, AMBER alerts, missing persons and silver alerts.
Vandemark noted, “once entered into the system, there is no accountability, no oversight.”
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