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Madison Heights debates removal of Flock camera pointed at dispensary
The spot was in front of the JARS dispensary right here along 12 Mile Road. It was removed as part of an agreement struck between JARS and the city. The final revised agreement will be voted on by City Council here on Monday night. JARS posted to social media saying the camera was originally required as a condition of the store operating at this location, but store management says they never had access to it. A viral backlash ensued over privacy concerns, prompting the company to put up a "No Flock Zone" sign to block the lens.
MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (FOX 2) - City officials in Madison Heights are days away from voting on an agreement to cement the removal of a controversial Flock camera pointed at the JARS cannabis dispensary.
The camera is gone, but the contentious debate rages on elsewhere as state lawmakers look to rein in the use of surveillance technology.
Local perspective:
The spot was in front of the JARS dispensary right here along 12 Mile Road. It was removed as part of an agreement struck between JARS and the city.
The final revised agreement will be voted on by City Council here on Monday night. JARS posted to social media saying the camera was originally required as a condition of the store operating at this location, but store management says they never had access to it. A viral backlash ensued over privacy concerns, prompting the company to put up a "No Flock Zone" sign to block the lens.
But there is a much larger battle against Flock being waged in Lansing.
How do Flock cameras work?
Big picture view:
Photos are snapped of every passing vehicle, while artificial intelligence then catalogs the state license plate, plate number, vehicle make, model, color and records unique appearance details. This could mean dents.
AI extracts the plate number, state, vehicle make, model, color, and specific traits like dents.
When vehicle descriptions are reported, the information is cross-checked by AI which results in a "hit" for investigators.
Privacy concerns raised
Police say that the cameras are not used for traffic enforcement, they do not take photos of the vehicle's occupants and there is no facial recognition technology.
Despite the reassurances that the cameras don't capture faces, the technology has led to some stereotyping fears, worries about how data is being stored, and concerns about the surveillance of innocent people.
Worries about reader misuse even led to the American Civil Liberties Union proposing guidelines that law enforcement agencies should follow if they choose to implement the technology.
Dig deeper:
On Wednesday night, FOX 2 learned more about legislation introduced just days ago designed to rein in how police departments use data collected by Flock cameras.
State Senator Jim Runestad of White Lake Twp sponsored the measures after learning of instances where officers misused surveillance systems.
He says guardrails are needed to stop a Wild West atmosphere.
"The legislation means that the Flock system cannot retain the information for more than 14 days unless there’s an ongoing investigation, something along those lines. Because currently there’s no requirement at all," said Senator Jim Runestad. "All over Michigan, different entities can keep this stuff for years and years. It’s absolutely crazy. It also requires warrants for a lot of stuff that they would want to get this for that makes no sense."
"Currently, it depends on the locality," said tech expert Joe Tavares. "My understanding is that Flock maintains all the data and the police departments that have these deals in place are then able to access that so it’s on a local level, so there’s different regional contracts."
Metro Detroit Flock camera vandalism continues; surveillance complaints persist
Cameras like Flock, which can be seen alongside highways and roads across Michigan are becoming a target as the debate over police surveillance heats up.
The Source: FOX 2 talked with State Senator Jim Runestad and tech expert Joe Tavares for information in this report.