CPD chief suggests quarterly audits of Flock cameras during Wednesday presentation

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department held a series of meetings on Wednesday to gather public feedback on implementing Flock Safety camera system throughout the city. 

A series of eight meetings were scheduled between Wednesday and Thursday. The first was held at 9 a.m. at Lange Middle School on Wednesday with the final meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Boone Electric Community Room on Thursday.

Police Chief Jill Schlude said the goal is to answer any questions the public may have and address any potential concerns. CPD is also accepting public feedback on BeHeardCoMo.gov through Sept. 10. 

Flock Safety cameras are designed to capture images of license plates under various conditions, including nighttime and severe weather, according to its website. The cameras use Automatic License Plate Readers to provide real-time alerts to law enforcement. The data can be shared between multiple law enforcement agencies to help with investigations. 

During Wednesday’s presentation at the Daniel Boone Regional Library, CPD said that ALPRs were used to help track down three suspects in Oklahoma who are accused in last year's deadly shooting on Dove Drive. 

The cameras can read license plates and determine the make and model of cars, however, Flock claims the cameras do not capture identifiable images of people or faces. CPD says that the cameras would also not be used for traffic enforcement. 

More than 200 agencies across Missouri already use Flock cameras including the Jefferson City Police Department, Lee’s Summit, Webster Grove PD, Cape Girardeau PD, O’Fallon PD, and the St. Charles County Sheriff’s Office, according to Wednesday's presentation. The City of Fulton entered in an agreement with Flock in February, according to previous reporting.

“It's hard to be in my job at this point and not know about Flock with 200-plus agencies in Missouri. We're kind of the outliers now that we don't use it, frankly,” Schlude told ABC 17 News.  “I think it was natural that this conversation has come up in Columbia now.” 

The data from the cameras is only stored for 30 days. CPD has already drafted a policy for the department to ensure the technology is being used appropriately. 

Schlude said she would like to see quarterly public audits of how the cameras were used, to ensure that nobody is abusing the system and not taking advantage of it for personal gain. CPD would have the ability to see what other law enforcement agencies are using its data from the cameras. 

Not everyone is on board with the idea. Attorney Dan Viets says there is an "instinct from law enforcement" to want to put everyone under surveillance. However, he believes most people value their privacy.

"I feel like we need to resist the impulse of law enforcement to put everyone under surveillance all the time," Viets said. "This is straight out of 1984. This is Big Brother watching you all the time."

Schlude was unable to provide a cost estimate, citing current negotiations. However, representatives from Flock who presented at Wednesday’s meeting said the City of Columbia and Public Works would not be responsible for installing the cameras. All training, installation and maintenance would be handed by Flock.

If approved by the City Council, Schlude estimates the cameras could be active as soon as four-to-six months. The city would have to go through a lengthy permitting process with the Missouri Department of Transportation before they could install the cameras.

According to CPD, four of the five security cameras they have available Downtown are not working, which has limited some of the investigative work they do. 

“Safety (in) Downtown is a huge concern. I think having this type of system Downtown especially is important because we want people to feel safe to be in our business district day or night, frankly,” Schlude said. “With the amount of students living Downtown, I think it's important that parents feel like their kids are coming to school in a place where there's an extra layer of security. If something does happen, we can hopefully solve the crime and bring justice to them.  But the camera's not working has been a huge hindrance.” 

CPD laid out a plan that would include replacing the five downtown security cameras with live feed cameras from Flock that can pan, tilt and zoom. Thirteen license plate reader cameras would be spread out across Albert-Oakland Park, the Garth Nature area, the Cosmopolitan Recreational area, the MTK trail, and the Gans Creek Recreational Area.  Eight license plate reader cameras will also be placed on Highway 63 with eight more on Interstate 70. 

Each ward will also receive a handful of cameras and intersection packages from Flock. An intersection package consists of four license plate reading cameras and two fixed live-feed cameras. Here is the breakdown by ward. 

• Ward 1:
  • 3 Intersection packages
  • 0 license plate readers
• Ward 2:
  • 2 Intersection packages 
  • 4 license plate readers
• Ward 3:
  • 3 intersection packages
  • 2 license plate readers
• Ward 4
  • 3 intersection packages
  • 0 license plate readers
• Ward 5
  • 1 intersection package
  • 2 license plate readers 
• Ward 6
  • 2 intersection packages 
  • 4 license plate readers

CPD has previously suggested using a camera system in Columbia called Fusus, which the City Council rejected following community pushback at a November 2022 council meeting. The council voted 4-3 against using that surveillance software.

Community feedback meetings on Thursday will be held at:

• 9 a.m. - Crossing Church Student Center Room 320, 3615 Southland Drive
• Noon - City Hall Council Chambers, 701 E. Broadway
• 3 p.m. - Gentry Middle School Media Center, 4200 Bethel Street
• 7 p.m. - Boone Electric Community Room, 1413 Range Line Street