St. Clair Shores debates Flock in the city as residents rally against it

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (FOX 2) - Saint Clair Shores residents say they want out of a five-year contract their city signed with Flock Safety in 2025. The pushback follows a massive wave of privacy concerns and reports of police officers around the county misusing the technology.

Big picture view:

The mayor of Saint Clair Shores says the City Council will work with the City Manager and the Police Chief and in two weeks they'll tell the public what they will do as far as Flock’s future in this community.

There are 12 Flock Safety cameras operating in Saint Clair Shores and many residents want them taken offline, at the very least, until policies can be reviewed. 

The Flock issue was not even on the City Council agenda here but, just like in many towns, it gained interest following recent social media chatter over privacy rights, the information gathered and stored by Flock and who has access to it.

St Clair Shores originally adopted Flock cameras after a 5-0 vote of approval from City Council last year, with relatively low opposition. 

In fact, officials here tried to get ahead of the anxiety by spelling out strict parameters, saying the cameras would be strictly used for investigations paid for through drug forfeiture money with a 30-day limit on data retention. 

However, the wave of local and national pushback prompted many cities, including Ferndale, Westland, Sumpter Township and Lansing to make moves that either rollback or terminate their contracts all together. 

That brings us to the comments from concerned residents.

What's next:

Several members of the City Council, along with the Mayor, said on Tuesday they too have major concerns one year after Flock was approved. Again, the city will reveal the future of Flock in Saint Clair Shores in two weeks.

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