Garden City residents call for an end to Flock cameras

GARDEN CITY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Another Metro Detroit city is saying no to Flock cameras, saying it is an invasion of privacy.

Big picture view:

Garden City residents were gathered at a city council meeting to discuss their grievances with Flock. Meanwhile, police say Flock cameras are great for helping them track down criminals. 

However, plenty of people think they are too invasive. 

What is a Flock Camera?

Flock cameras are described as automated license plate readers owned by Flock Safety. They use AI to read and record license plates and vehicle details. Though they appear on Metro Detroit roads, some also can be seen in parks and trails where vehicles don't normally go.

They are not hard to spot as you drive down roads like Woodward, Telegraph, or even a small side street. They normally sit on black or gray poles with a camera strapped to the side. A big giveaway is the small solar panel at the very top.

Garden City residents sound off on Flock Cameras

Local perspective:

One resident, Rich Stoddard, started a petition calling for the end of Flock camera in Garden City.

"So my petition started off as a change dot org just to kinda get the word out there within the first 24 hours," Stoddard said. "I had almost 200 signatures on it."

"No matter what side of the political spectrum you’re on, I think most people are intelligent enough to know government is not always your friend - not someone you can always trust with unlimited amounts of data," one resident told FOX 2.

"I just really feel like if we start letting go of liberties, little by little, just a little by little start going to start going away. I want to. It’s really hard to get it back, so I just wanna fight for our rights. I just want to make sure people are willing to stand up for their rights," Stoddard said.

City council members sat back and listened to what they had to say.

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