One Butler County city is shutting off its Flock cameras and residents of nearby cities are calling for their leaders to follow suit.
The Oxford City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to terminate the police department’s contract with Flock Safety, a for-profit company, that allowed officers to use the automated license plate readers.
“We have a very good police department, but what we were concerned about was how that data would be used by other departments with whom the data is shared,” said councilmember Bill Snavely, who added that many residents also cited concerns about their privacy.
Snavely said the council considered a recommendation to keep the contract, with added safeguards, approved by the Oxford Police Community Relations Review Commission — but ultimately decided to heed residents’ concerns.
One recommendation would have cut the departments that can see Oxford’s Flock data from 2,215 to just the surrounding counties. But Snavely said outspoken residents still raised concerns about the level of trust Oxford must then place in other departments.
“Once it's available to Cincinnati and Hamilton County, in Hamilton and the sheriff's office, and out in Preble County and all the other adjacent counties, you're really letting go of a lot of data,” said Snavely, who offered the legislation to end the contract.
Snavely said the city’s police chief, John Jones, told the council he would notify Flock.
As for what’s next, Snavely said, “Flock could either turn off the cameras and remove them, or we can go put bags over them.”
Councilmember Jason Bracken, who cast the sole dissenting vote, did not respond to a request for comment. But in a Facebook discussion about the decision, Bracken said he shared the same concerns with the rest of Oxford’s council and “came out just slightly on the side of there being more probable harm.”
“I think the probable harm of our data being misused is likely lower, if not a lot lower, than the probable harm of losing the benefit of deterring crime, stopping crime, and holding criminals to account,” Bracken wrote.
Protesters in Hamilton ask their leaders to do the same
The move by Oxford’s council garnered praise from anti-Flock protesters who gathered in Hamilton Wednesday night.
“It gives you hope,” said Hamilton resident Martha Palatchi. “That's the kind of thing that keeps you motivated when you see that a group of people can actually make changes.”
Palatchi was one of about 30 area residents who showed up outside of the Butler County government building to protest local agreements with Flock Safety as part of a national week of action.
Palatchi said she felt compelled to protest because she doesn’t want her children and grandchildren to grow up under mass surveillance.
“What kind of world do I want to leave my children? How can I make a difference in some small way?” Palatchi asked.
Others at the protest cited concerns about Flock Safety’s for-profit nature, potential hacking and documented examples of misuse by officers.
“What is the benefit here? I don't see it,” said Terrance Huff, a local leader of the DeFlock movement. “What I do see is I see an unscrupulous company that is using fear to sell cameras for the sake of profit.”
Both Palatchi and Huff said they’d like to see Hamilton terminate its contract with Flock Safety. Huff added he doesn’t want to see the cameras replaced with licence plate readers from other companies.
In a statement released the same day two cameras in the city were cut down in late July, the city said it wanted to provide accurate information to residents with questions.
“ALPRs are one tool that help us keep our community safe, and we will continue to use them in a way that reflects our values and our commitment to the people of Hamilton,” the statement said, using the acronym for the technology.
Huff said he believes many in Butler County agree with him, especially as the cameras have begun popping up all over.
“I just happen to look up and sure enough: there's one right there, I can see that one there. I can see the other one on the other side of the street,” Huff said. “They sit around like little spies for the government.”
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