Akron is heavily curtailing outside law enforcement agencies’ access to its network of Flock license-plate cameras, Public Safety Chief Craig Morgan told Akron City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Monday, October 26, as the city continues a review of how the system is used.
The change follows a review of the city’s Flock audit logs and concerns raised by residents and council members about privacy, immigration enforcement and reproductive rights, the city said in a press release. During the review, the city found that most searches by outside law enforcement were blanket searches made across the nationwide Flock network, not targeted requests related to criminal activity in Akron.
The new limits will not affect the Akron Police Department’s ability to use Flock for local public safety purposes, the city said. Agencies in Ohio will still be able to search Akron’s system for statewide searches, and outside agencies with a legitimate investigative need and a reason to believe a suspect is in Akron may still contact the Akron Police Department directly to request assistance.
“We recognize that residents have legitimate concerns about how this technology is used and who has access to the information it collects,” Morgan said. “We’re committed to addressing those concerns through careful review, meaningful safeguards, and transparency. That means being willing to make changes when the data shows us there’s a better way to protect the public.”
This is not the first time Akron has restricted access to its Flock system. In May, the city disabled search categories related to immigration enforcement and women’s reproductive health for outside agencies, an earlier step in the same review that remains underway.
Flock cameras photograph passing vehicles and license plates, building searchable records that police use to look for stolen vehicles, missing people and suspects. Supporters say the tools help solve crimes quickly, while critics warn that broad, nationwide searching can track the movements of people who are not suspected of any crime.
The city’s review of how its Flock cameras are used internally, and how outside law enforcement has interacted with the network, remains underway. Residents can expect the discussion to continue at City Hall as council weighs privacy safeguards against the investigative value police say the cameras provide.
Photo: Tony Webster, CC BY