Earlier this month, a Binghamton resident asked the city council to end its contract with Flock Safety.
The company makes automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) which have become controversial in recent years. Some groups, like the American Civil Liberties Union, say they are used in ways that violate civil liberties and privacy.
Over a dozen people urged the council to end use of all ALPRs at a recent business meeting.
The request was also the subject of a committee meeting on Thursday where the city council’s Municipal Affairs Committee heard from a Flock representative and an expert from the Policing Project of New York University’s School of Law. The two presented contradictory information about the risks of using ALPRs, specifically Flock cameras.
The committee also heard from Binghamton Police Chief John Ryan.
Ryan answered specific questions from the committee about who in the police department has access to the cameras’ data and what restrictions are placed on access. They also discussed whether the data needs to be saved for 30 days or if it could be useful to police if it was deleted sooner.
After the meeting, Ryan told WSKG that in addition to requiring a case number be entered before accessing Flock data, the police department also conducts audits of who has accessed the data every two weeks. If misuse were found, the person would be subject to the department’s disciplinary procedures, including potentially being fired.
Law enforcement officers in other agencies across the country have lost their jobs after using Flock camera data to track the movements of current and ex-partners.
The number of municipalities severing ties with Flock is increasing. Recently Tompkins County, the city of Ithaca and the city of Syracuse cancelled their contracts. Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Police Department suspended its use of Flock cameras.
The Binghamton council’s committee did not advance the request to the full council for a vote. Members said they want more information before moving forward.
