On Monday, St. Marys City Council heard from a Flock Safety official and a handful of residents about the new AI-powered traffic and security cameras the elected body unanimously approved to purchase in April.
The cameras were approved during an April 6 meeting with no discussion from Council. Earlier this month, residents began to voice opposition to the law enforcement investigation tool through social media, and Council opted to learn more about the cameras during Monday’s meeting.
In April, City Council approved the purchase of 15 cameras on a three-year contract. The first-year cost is $63,650, which includes installation, according to city documents. The remaining two years of the contract are $53,000 each year.
City Manager Mike Mahaney said Flock cameras have been used by law enforcement agencies across the country, including North Myrtle Beach, S.C., where he previously served as city manager.
“This is for issues, let’s say a guy has Alzheimer’s and he’s missing,” Mahaney said. “License plate readers can help you find him.”
According to Mahaney and Flock Safety spokesman Jalen Johnson, the cameras take a photo of license plates and matches them with information provided through the Georgia Criminal Information System (GCIS). If a law enforcement agency submits information to GCIS about a vehicle it wants to locate, Flock cameras can flag those vehicles by taking a picture of the vehicle’s license plate.
At his last job, Mahaney said, Flock cameras helped solve two bank robberies.
Mahaney also said data from Flock cameras is only stored for 30 days.
Johnson said Flock cameras are used by 12,000 customers and about half are law enforcement agencies. He also said Flock has assisted with solving 10% of crimes in the U.S.
“We are a collaborative policing technology,” Johnson said. “We do not believe we are here to replace the police. … We are collaborating and working with our law enforcement agencies so they can solve crime more effectively.”
Johnson said Flock data taken by its cameras in St. Marys belong to the city of St. Marys. He said Flock does not have access to the data; only the city does.
“We’re not selling your data,” he said.
Johnson also said Flock includes “proactive auditing” measures, which is one reason why Flock has received negative attention nationwide. Several law enforcement agencies have reported misuse of the cameras by employees. In Georgia, according to Mahaney, misusing the data involves a $50,000 fine and prison sentence.
“This means the tool worked as designed,” Johnson said. “If they were caught, fired and arrested because they misused the Flock system, that’s because we have safeguards in place.”
St. Marys Councilman Jeremy Nascimento asked Johnson and St. Marys Police Chief James Galloway if the federal government can obtain Flock data.
“There may be a case that comes up, and they’re working, and obviously we’d assist,” Galloway said. But depending on the type of case, especially if it involved a missing person or murder suspect, something along those lines, we would assist them in trying to help and locate and find that fellow.”
St. Marys Mayor Greg Lockhart said the vote for Flock cameras was during a public meeting and commissioners had the opportunity to discuss concerns with city administration and law enforcement officials.
“We had the opportunity to speak to the chief,” Lockhart said. “It wasn’t something done in secret. We didn’t have the breadth of information we got here, but we did have the opportunity to talk about that.”
Several residents expressed concerns about privacy.
“This technology is very powerful,” local resident Christine Adamow said. “It’s cutting edge. It’s state of the art. It is security cameras on steroids.”
But council members seem unmoved by opposition to the cameras.
“We all consented because we knew it to be exactly what you said it is, a license plate reader,” Nascimento said. “The pubic does have some legit concerns. I’m always very leery of things that breach privacy and safety.”
Galloway noted that when Flock alerts law enforcement officials about a vehicle, police must still conduct “police and investigative work” to identify the driver of the vehicle.
“These cameras enhance our ability to protect our city,” Galloway said. “They will be used in accordance to state law, and that’s how we’ll do business with them.”