Full transcript
EVEN STOLEN. DANA GRIFFIN HAS
THE LATEST.
THE BATTLE OVER FLOCK
TRAFFIC CAMERAS MOVING FROM
COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE DO
NOT WANT TO BE FILMED.
PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING.
DO THE STREETS THEMSELVES.
NBC AFFILIATE KARE 11 REPORTING.
CITIES ACROSS MINNESOTA SAY THE
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS ARE
TARGETS STOLEN, DAMAGED OR
VANDALIZED. IN RECENT MONTHS.
WE HAVE SIX CAMERAS. ONLY
TWO OF THEM ARE ACTIVE RIGHT
NOW. FOUR HAVE BEEN DAMAGED AT
DIFFERENT POINTS IN TIME.
AND EVEN A CANDIDATE FOR
CONGRESS IN TENNESSEE, RUNNING
AS AN INDEPENDENT, IS CURRENTLY
FACING FELONY VANDALISM CHARGES
FOR ALLEGEDLY USING A SHOTGUN
TO TAKE OUT FLOCK CAMERAS. HE'S
YET TO ENTER A PLEA. HIS
CAMPAIGN SAID HE IS UNABLE TO
COMMENT ON THE ALLEGATIONS.
CLEARLY A DEBATE PLAYING OUT
FROM COAST TO COAST.
I THINK WE SHOULD COMPLETELY
REMOVE THEM.
NBC NEWS COVERED THE
CONTROVERSY IN DEPTH LAST MONTH,
AS DOZENS OF MUNICIPALITIES
CANCELED OR LET THEIR CONTRACTS
WITH FLOCK EXPIRE OVER THE PAST
YEAR, AND AT LEAST 15 MORE
REJECTED PROPOSED FLOCK
CONTRACTS DUE TO COMMUNITY
PUSHBACK.
YOUR COMMUNITY IS TELLING
YOU THAT WE DON'T WANT THIS.
THE CAMERAS ARE INSTALLED AT
INTERSECTIONS AND CAPTURE
DETAILED VEHICLE DATA, WHICH AI
CAN ANALYZE TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE
AND ALERT AUTHORITIES WHO SAY
IT'S AN IMPORTANT CRIME
FIGHTING TOOL. BUT CRITICS
ARGUE THEY GO TOO FAR.
YOU KNOW, I'M ALL FOR
PUTTING THE BAD GUYS AWAY. I'VE
GOT A WIFE AND BABY AT HOME, SO
I UNDERSTAND. BUT I DO THINK
IT'S DEFINITELY A INVASION OF
PRIVACY.
THIS IS ABOVE AND BEYOND THE
LICENSE PLATE DETECTION, AND
YOU CAN SEE THAT IT SORT OF
FOLLOWS HIM IN THE SHOT.
FOR OUR PREVIOUS COVERAGE, I
MET WITH THE CO-FOUNDERS OF DE
FLOCK PASADENA, A GRASSROOTS
ORGANIZATION HOPING TO PRESSURE
PASADENA TO CANCEL ITS EXISTING
CONTRACT WITH FLOCK. WHAT'S THE
BIGGEST CONCERN HERE?
I THINK THE BIGGEST CONCERN
IS THAT IF THESE TECHNOLOGIES
WERE USED BY POLICE FOR A
WRONGFUL CONVICTION, THAT
BASICALLY RUINED SOMEONE'S LIFE.
I ALSO WANTED TO GET A SENSE
OF HOW THEY'RE BEING USED BY
LAW ENFORCEMENT. SO WE WENT TO
ALAMEDA COUNTY. YOU HEAR AN
ALERT TONE. WHAT DOES THAT TELL
YOU?
SO THE ALERT TONE IS RELATED
TO THE LICENSE PLATE READERS,
AND IT LETS US KNOW THAT
THERE'S BEEN AN ACTIVATION.
THERE'S ONE RIGHT NOW ON A
VEHICLE TRAVELING PAST ONE OF
OUR CAMERAS THAT ARE POSITIONED
IN A PUBLIC PLACE.
WHAT COULD THAT MEAN EXACTLY?
IT COULD MEAN A NUMBER OF
THINGS. THAT CAMERA NETWORK IS
HOOKED UP TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE. SO THE STOLEN VEHICLE
SYSTEM, IT COULD BE AN ARMED
ROBBERY, CAR CARJACKING, A
MURDER VEHICLE.
I MEAN, THIS THING IS GOING
OFF.
WE GET A LOT OF ALERTS IN
THIS COUNTY.
WHILE IT MAY RECEIVE
INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT, ALAMEDA COUNTY
INSISTS THE DATA ISN'T FLOWING
THE OTHER WAY.
WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO
EXTERNAL SHARING WITH ANY
FEDERAL AGENCIES OR IMMIGRATION.
THERE IS NO WAY THEY COULD
ACCESS OUR DATA WITHOUT OUR
KNOWLEDGE.
OAKLAND, WHICH IS IN ALAMEDA
COUNTY, ALSO HAS SEEN ITS FLOCK
CAMERAS VANDALIZED WITH PAINT
EARLIER THIS YEAR. FLOCK
INSISTS IT'S STRENGTHENED
GUARDRAILS TO SECURE DATA
THAT'S BEING COLLECTED.
I KNOW THERE'S CONCERNS
ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THIS DATA
IS BEING SHARED WITH ICE. FLOCK
DOES NOT HAVE A RELATIONSHIP
WITH ICE.
THE COMPANY SAYS. WHERE IT'S
SHARED IS REALLY UP TO LOCAL
AUTHORITIES.
CITIES ACTUALLY CONTROL THE
DATA COMPLETELY AND HAVE
COMPLETE AUTHORITY OVER HOW
IT'S BEING USED.
BACK IN MINNESOTA, KARE 11
REPORTS, DATA THAT ISN'T PART
OF AN ACTIVE INVESTIGATION HAS
TO BE DELETED WITHIN 60 DAYS,
ACCORDING TO STATE LAW.
SECOND, WE REALIZE THE
VEHICLE IS NOT INVOLVED. IT'S
GONE 30 DAYS LATER, IT'S
DELETED. NO ONE EVER PAYS
ATTENTION TO IT AGAIN.
STILL, THE CONTROVERSY NOT
LIKELY TO BE WIPED