Some members of Akron City Council are raising concerns about the constitutionality of Flock law enforcement cameras, including the data they collect.
Akron Chief of Public Safety Craig Morgan gave a 25-minute presentation on how Flock cameras are used in Akron and how the city took action to keep them from being used by national agencies for certain kinds of searches.
Morgan highlighted some misconceptions about the cameras throughout the city, such as assuring council that the cameras do not have facial recognition enabled. He also identified three instances in which the cameras helped solve crimes or served the community.
Morgan also addressed concerns that Flock cameras were unconstitutional with regards to the Fourth Amendment.
"The question that always has to be asked is 'does the individual have a reasonable expectation of privacy?'" he said. "Whenever we leave our homes, whether it's on foot or in a vehicle, our expectations of privacy dramatically decrease."
During the presentation to council’s public safety committee, Councilmember Eric Garrett criticized Flock for what he calls an indiscriminate gathering of data.
"Everybody's not a criminal," he said. "Why, in fact, do we do this for every single person who's not criminals?"
But Morgan reiterated that there isn't a reasonable expectation of privacy on a public road.
Garrett also questioned how Flock cameras were placed around the city, pointing out the areas with the most cameras appear to be poor white, Black and brown communities.
Council President Margo Sommerville, who represents Ward 3 covering parts of Downtown, Sherbondy Hill and University Park, also questioned how the camera placements were chosen.
"How are we identifying where these cameras are going to be placed?" She asked. "It is alarming, particularly as the councilperson for Ward 3, who I do believe has the most cameras in their ward."
Morgan said they plan coverage by working with data analysts to try to address violent crime and individuals fleeing immediately after violent crime.
Councilmember Fran Wilson, who represents Ward 1 stretching from Downtown to Northwest Akron, also offered some concerns about the continued use of Flock cameras in the city.
"I understand that Akron's devices might not have built-in systems for facial recognition, but I would like to offer that it is not just a camera, it is the system as a whole that we have bought into," they said. "So, while we might not practice it, the data that we share could be run through programs that do do that, that's my understanding."
Mayor Shammas Malik addressed Flock's usage in the city during Monday night's council meeting.
"It has been used in a positive way, right?" He said. "There are also really serious questions being asked about the internal use of the system and the external use of the system."
In May, the city blocked searches related to immigration and abortion.
Wilson pushed the level of urgency on weighing the risk of sharing the data with external services. They suggested suspending the program while conducting an audit of the system.
In September, it came to light that a former Akron police officer, Devon Fields, who was fired in August following the fatal shooting of Jazmir Tucker, accessed Flock while on administrative leave during the investigation.
Garrett said the fact that no one knew Fields was using the Flock search showed problems itself.
"It would be different if we didn't have a police department that was already under review," he said. "But unfortunately we're here where we are right now for a reason. And we as a city have the opportunity to pause this Flock system to get it right."
Garrett also criticized the use of a private company meaning council members can't make a Freedom of Information Act request of the records.
"We're questioning whether or not Flock is accurately being used and to have an opportunity for us to audit it properly," Garrett said.
Many of those speaking at Monday's council meeting referenced an analysis by Signal Akron that found more than 10,000 national searches of Akron data over an 18-month period ending in June where officers left vague or irrelevant rationales for conducting a search on a license plate such as "LOL," "weirdo" and "TBD."
Several other council members withheld their questions due to time constraints. Akron’s contract with Flock runs through 2028.
Council greenlights zoning reforms
At Monday's meeting, council passed an update to Akron's residential zoning laws that remove the minimum lot size requirement, opening up thousands of unused plots, according to the city. At-Large Councilmember Mark Greer called the move "a step in the right direction" of undoing old discriminatory housing laws.
