Flock council policy faces vote Monday
RED BAY —A second Flock Safety automated license plate reader has been installed as the city prepares for a special meeting Monday on a proposed policy governing use of the system.
The council will hold the meeting at 7 p.m. Monday. Anyone wishing to address the council must submit a Request to Address the Council form by 4 p.m. Friday.
Police Chief Janna Jackson confirmed the second camera has been installed at the intersection of 11th Street SE and Fourth Avenue SE.
Councilmember Jason Vinson previously said the city had purchased the second camera for the Highway 19 entrance to Red Bay.
The first camera is on Golden Road near Hospital Road and Gates Road.
Jackson said the cameras are operating, but officers are not accessing information from the system while the city awaits adoption of a state-required license plate recognition policy.
Jackson previously said the Flock cameras do not use facial recognition. She said information collected through the system would be accessed and shared only in connection with criminal investigations.
The city council voted July 15 to table a vote on the proposed license plate recognition policy, saying members wanted more time to review it and address concerns raised by residents.
Vinson, who made the motion to table the policy, said he wanted the council to consider how data collected by the system would be stored and used.
Jackson has said the department requested the cameras as an investigative tool.
Before obtaining its own cameras, Jackson said, the department relied on neigh- boring agencies that use the Flock Safety network to run license plates or vehicle descriptions in connection with investigations.
She said the system could help investigators locate abducted children, stolen vehicles, and wanted suspects.
Red Bay resident Caleb Ramey said he has worked in the information technology department at a college where campus police have used the technology.
He said he observed campus police use information from Flock cameras while investigating vandalism to vehicles at the college. He said the information helped police identify a vehicle connected to people from outside the area.
Red Bay resident Austin Belue said he plans to speak at the Aug. 17 public hearing. He said he is not opposed to using the cameras for public safety but wants limits on how information collected through the system can be retained, accessed and shared.
“None of this argues against public safety,” Belue wrote in a statement he said he plans to deliver to the council. “It argues for consent and limits proportional to the power we’re handing over.”
Belue said he wants the city’s policy to include clear data-retention limits, a public audit process, and a warrant requirement for data shared outside the jurisdiction.
The city has a draft policy governing use of the cameras, but no council-approved policy is currently in place.
