CHARLOTTE — Representatives from Flock Safety held meetings with Charlotte elected officials and community members on Tuesday as the city considers a new police camera contract.
The visits occurred as the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department searches for an automatic license plate reader company to partner with.
The community meeting took place at Harding University High School, where Flock representatives presented information on their camera technology.
The gathering brought out contrasting views from company officials highlighting law enforcement results and local residents raising privacy concerns over public surveillance.
Jalen Johnson, who represents Flock Public Affairs, outlined the national scope of the company’s technology.
“Flock was credited last year with bringing home more than 10,000 missing people and assisting law enforcement in over one million investigations across the country,” Johnson said.
He added that the system aids ongoing police work daily. “We’re seeing some of the most heinous crimes amongst us being solved each and every day all across the country,” Johnson said.
Johnson explained that the technology is designed to assist law enforcement officers during investigations.
“It provides an objective lead. It provides an investigatory lead for law enforcement to then follow up on a crime,” Johnson said.
Flock Safety says it stores data collected by its license plate reader cameras for seven days before deleting it.
Community members who attended the evening meeting voiced strong concerns regarding public surveillance.
Daniel Oria, an activist opposed to license plate reader technology who co-founded a local group warning residents about privacy risks, spoke out against the systems.
“The whole point is just to try and push back on the surveillance technology we’re seeing,” Oria said.
Oria emphasized that license plate readers collect data on citizens regardless of whether they are suspected of wrongdoing.
“We are now collecting information on all people regardless of whether they are suspected of a crime or not, and these systems are operating at a national level,” Oria said.
He noted that the technology tracks people without personal choice. “You’re being tracked regardless of whether you’re consenting to that or not,” Oria said.
Flock Safety representatives would not confirm whether the company is submitting a proposal for the local contract. It is currently unknown how many bids have been submitted for the contract or which companies have entered the bidding process.
The public debate follows both law enforcement successes and misconduct cases involving license plate reader technology in the region this year.
In August, Flock technology was used in Catawba County to arrest Leroy Loper in connection with the death of Rob Doyle, a woman who was reported missing days prior.
However, two local law enforcement officers were arrested this year for allegedly misusing license plate reader systems.
A CMPD officer and a Mooresville police officer both face charges after one allegedly used the technology to track her boyfriend’s ex-wife, while the other allegedly passed license plate data to a suspected drug dealer.
Bids to serve as the automatic license plate reader partner for CMPD remain open until Oct. 5.
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