Staunton announced this afternoon that it will end its contract with Flock Safety and remove the six automated license plate readers installed throughout the city.
While a growing number of local residents have been vocal at City Council meetings about their opposition to the cameras, it was an email from the Flock Safety CEO that appears to have been the final straw in the city’s decision about the future of the ALPR technology.
The unsolicited email, sent on Monday, Dec. 8, to Staunton Police Chief Jim Williams, said that Flock, and the law enforcement agencies they partner with, “are under coordinated attack.”
The email from CEO Garrett Langley was likely intended to give police departments ammunition to fight back against some of the persistent arguments of opponents of the APLR technology related to hackability, sharing data, security and more.
However, Staunton didn’t like the picture Langley painted of those who oppose the technology.
“The attacks aren’t new,” Langley wrote. “You’ve been dealing with this for forever, and we’ve been dealing with this since our founding, from the same activist groups who want to defund the police, weaken public safety, and normalize lawlessness. Now, they’re producing YouTube videos with misleading headlines. They’re also trying to turn a public records process into a weapon against you and against us.”
On Dec. 12, Williams replied to Langley, disagreeing with his assessment.
“As far as your assertion that we are currently under attack,” Williams wrote, “I do not believe that this is so. I have dedicated the last 41 years of my life to serving the citizens of the City of Staunton as a police officer, the last 22 as the police chief. What we are seeing here is a group of local citizens who are raising concerns that we could be potentially surveilling private citizens, residents and visitors and using the data for nefarious purposes.
“These citizens have been exercising their rights to receive answers from me, my staff, and city officials, to include our elected leaders. ln short, it is democracy in action.”
In a statement sent to media and residents this afternoon, the city said that Williams, in consultation with the City Manager and City Council, will move forward to cancel the city’s contract with Flock Safety.
“The City of Staunton wants to make it clear that the Flock Safety CEO’s narrative does not reflect the city’s values,” the statement read.
“The Staunton Police Department reported numerous successes utilizing this technology. Unfortunately, the city does not agree with the assessment as detailed by the CEO of Flock Safety. The Staunton Police Department remains fully committed to public safety through community-based policing, investigative techniques that utilize best practices, and other technology solutions.”
The city said it has already begun discussions with Flock to shut down the service.
“The City of Staunton is currently coordinating with Flock Safety to finalize the contract termination, turn off the license plate readers, and have them removed. In the near future, the city will provide an update with a more specific timeline.”
Staunton resident Aaron Barmer credited organizing for playing a big role in the city’s decision.
“I am very grateful to the many neighbors who’ve led and lit viable paths toward accomplishing today’s victory for all people who live in and visit our notable little city; and I’m grateful to the many neighbors who answered the call to bring heat and admonition to City Council and our city appointees until there was no mistaking the will of the people,” he said.
Another vocal opponent to the Flock technology, Mark Hopp, told AFP that he is thankful that Williams decided to pull the plug on the technology. He would like the city to enact measures to ensure that “rigorous public debate” is offered before surveillance technology is considered in the future.
“I believe this is a huge step in the right direction,” Hopp said. “However, I believe that I speak for the majority of those who have been pushing for this when I say this but we would like an ordinance requiring City Council approval before any surveillance-type technologies are put in place in the City of Staunton.”
The City of Charlottesville also announced this week that its 10 cameras would be removed. The 10 cameras were installed as part of a one-year pilot program that expired in October. In June, Charlottesville disconnected from the national shared network due to concerns about data being potentially used for Immigrations and Custom Enforcement.
