IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Heated community debate over Flock cameras continued during an Idaho Falls City Council meeting Thursday.
Flock Safety cameras are AI-powered license plate readers that gather data such as the “color, make, mode, and license plates” of vehicles as they drive by, the company’s website states.
Multiple residents shared their concerns about the cameras during public comment.
“Our Fourth Amendment rights, privacy and freedom from unreasonable and unwarranted searches isn’t just some quaint, outdated idea that can be superseded by the acquisition of a little bit more safety,” said Brad Strand, a lifelong Idaho Falls native. “It must not be violated.”
Brian McKellar, an Ammon resident and former Legislative candidate, delivered the city a legal ultimatum to address the Flock cameras in the next 20 days.
“There’s 300,000 license plates they scan. We have a pretty good tort claim set up, which is $1,000 per picture taken,” McKellar said. “We really need to take this seriously. We need you to cover up these cameras before July 29th.”
However, Bonneville County Sheriff Spokesman Bryan Lovell said the cameras are an important tool for combating crime in the community.
In an interview last month with Local News 8’s Maile Sipraseuth, he said, “I know it has, since they’ve been in Idaho, been a factor in a lot of those cases where it’s narrowed down a search,” Lovell said. “It’s eliminated people as possible involvement or suspect activity. It’s narrowed down suspects and information and helps us kind of narrow down a search for someone that might be involved in a crime – all kinds of crimes. … It essentially makes a big list of that data that’s accessible by law enforcement.”
City of Idaho Falls Attorney Zachary Jones announced at the meeting that the city is currently working to change its contract with Flock Safety.
“We’re in the process of amending the contract that we have with Flock Safety to get rid of the clause that allows Flock Safety currently to use data that’s gathered from our Flock Safety cameras to be used to train its Flock Safety AI software,” he stated.
We’ll continue to follow the conflict over Flock cameras in our communities – reaching out to both law enforcement, opponents and city leaders in the weeks to come.
