Are automated license plate reader cameras (also known by the brand name Flock cameras) a threat to a free society or a valuable crime solving tool?
That question is a hot button issue across the country right now and last week it came front and center at the Pierce County Commission meeting.
Blake Edwards addressed the board during public comments asking commissioners to use their powers to block use of the cameras in Pierce County.
Edwards characterized the use of the cameras as unauthorized surveillance and a violation of American’s 4th amendment right protecting citizens from unfair and unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. He cited several examples of misuse and abuse of the cameras, including recent arrests of four law enforcement officers in the Savannah area “Unless I’m mistaken, every single one of you has a big “R” (Republican) in front of your name. That R should mean something. It should represent a set of values, including being the party that stands up for and defends the U.S. Constitution. I have taken the oath of office, it’s something I take very seriously,” he said.
Edwards called on commissioners to defend their oath and also protect and defend their constituents from any infringement on their constitutional rights. “There is no doubt in any true conservative’s mind that this camera system is another tool for mass government surveillance. The system is clearly being abused. It is the most sweeping surveillance system in American history, and we don’t have any way of knowing who accesses the data, how securely the data is being stored or how information requests are being processed.”
Edwards did say he could possibly understand FLOCK cameras being used at major intersections, but he pointed to intrusion in to his grandmother’s neighborhood as a major violation.
“...The fact that we have these cameras in residential neighborhoods, including one pointing right at my grandmothers house behind the recreation department on an extremely low-traffic road, I have a serious problem with that. Why do we need mass government surveillance in the middle of residential neighborhoods?,” he asked.
Edwards asked commissioners to meet with the sheriff and the chiefs of police in the county and investigate and ask questions. He asked how many crimes have been solved, how many missing children have been found and how many searches or data requests have been made. He also asked for the vetting process and for assurances the camera data is not being misused for personal gain or illegal searches.
However, Edwards still asked commissioners to end the use of Flock cameras in Pierce County.
Edwards closed his remarks with a quote by Ben Franklin.
“Those who give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Sheriff Ramsey Bennett then addressed commissioners urging them to “not throw the baby out with the bath water.”
The sheriff acknowledged abuses of the system by some law enforcement officers including those cited by Edwards.
“Have some officers misused them? Yes. But, those officers are being prosecuted for (those abuses) as well they should.”
Bennett asked commissioners to keep the Flock cameras.
“This is one of the greatest tools for law enforcement to help protect citizens and keep them safe and prosecute the bad guys.”
Bennett said the sheriff’s office uses 10 Flock cameras installed at entrances to the county at county lines. He said he did not have any in residential areas, though he couldn’t speak for the city police department. Bennett said the county’s cameras have been in place about three years. There are strict guidelines for use of the cameras and the data is stored for 30 days and then purged. The image includes only vehicles and license plates and identifying marks such as bumper stickers.
Blackshear Police Chief Chris Wright says the city utilizes Flock cameras, but he declined to say how many. The Times has learned the number is less than a dozen.
“(The cameras) are one of the best law enforcement investigative tools that we have,” Chief Wright said. “We have solved numerous crimes including a stolen vehicle case just last week. We also have used it to exonerate individuals who have been a accused of crimes.”
Wright said the city cameras are audited regularly — at least once per month. He also said there are strict guidelines in place for use of the cameras to guard against abuse.
Patterson Police Department does not currently have any cameras.
The sheriff cited more than a dozen cases where the Flock cameras assisted in solving crimes, apprehending fugitives, intercepting narcotics and other illegal drugs, recovering stolen items and locating missing children and Alzheimer’s patients who had gotten lost.
He cited an arrest and prosecution of a vehicular homicide case and the arrest and life sentence guilty plea of a man accused of “sexual crimes of a heinous nature”, both of whom were caught using Flock cameras.
Bennett said some of the information Edwards cited in opposition to the cameras was circulated by the left wing “No Kings” movement and a Chinese individual with Communist Party links.
Bennett asked commissioners to keep the Flock cameras in use in the county.
“Jesus healed 10 lepers and only one came back to thank him,” he said. “The same thing applies here. If it just solves one crime or helps us locate just one person who is missing, it is worth it.”
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