Tompkins County voted to end its relationship with Flock Safety at a special meeting last week.
The county had contracted with the company for static automatic license plate readers and gunshot detection technology used by the sheriff's department.
According to Flock Safety’s website, over 5,000 law enforcement agencies use the cameras. The license plate data collected by those cameras can be shared with other police departments, and included in the company’s national database, which Flock describes as the “largest fixed LPR [license plate reader] network.”
Flock Safety has been under intense scrutiny lately, with extra attention on federal agencies access to local data. That is partially because of the cameras’ use in immigration enforcement in some parts of the country.
Last year, the Central Current reported that federal immigration agents accessed driver data in nearby Syracuse after city police accidentally opted to share their data with Flock's national network. The city recently cancelled its Flock contract.
Some Tompkins County activists and lawmakers have raised concerns about the significant amount of data collected by the cameras, and the potential for its misuse. Local law enforcement have defended the cameras as a tool to reduce gun violence.
The city of Ithaca ended its relationship with Flock after public outcry in early March.
Tompkins County’s decision to cut ties with Flock comes after months of debate and a previous failed attempt to kill the contract by rejecting the state funding that paid for the cameras.
Local law enforcement are reapplying for that grant, but will use the funding for “alternative policing methods” that are consistent with the funding’s parameters, according to county attorney Maury Josephson.
At a special meeting of the legislature on Tuesday, Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne discussed possible alternatives to the static cameras.
He said the department is considering mobile surveillance trailers instead.
“They're like, over 70 grand for one. So at best, we maybe can get two, and then we can tow them anywhere and use them in hot spots that we need,” Osborne told the legislature.
He added that the department still has license plate readers in their patrol cars.
Tompkins County’s move to cut ties with Flock comes as a number of municipalities are reexamining or outright ending their contracts with the company. The cities of Austin, Texas, Eugene, Oregon, and Flagstaff, Arizona have voted to get the company out.
