Full transcript
The Stoughton Common Council voted to
end the city's contract with Flock
Safety after weeks of public pushback.
Lauren Abuzeid explains why police say
they are losing a valuable tool.
These Flock cameras have only been up
since May, but after hearing concerns
from community members, Stoughton
leaders have decided to end the
contract. Now, the company has 48 hours
to take down or disable these cameras
altogether.
All in favor of the amendment, say I.
I.
People who live in Stoughton argued the
license plate readers collected too much
personal information and raised privacy
concerns. Police Chief Brandon Hill says
the cameras were only used to alert
officials when someone wanted by law
enforcement entered the city or during
cases like Amber Alerts.
So, we can use that to, you know, help
see if somebody was in town when a crime
was committed or not. Um, see their
vehicles, things like that.
Hill says every search was documented,
the system was audited monthly, and
there had been no misuse. Even so,
public opposition grew.
Stoughton residents saw that we had
cameras put in uh and began a
pushback effort.
Hill says losing the cameras will make
some investigations more difficult, but
respects the council's decision.
It'll make them a little more difficult.
Um, it it's it's not world-ending.
27 News reached out to Flock and
received the following statement. When a
tool that is actively helping solve
violent crimes, locate suspects, and
find missing people is removed, public
safety moves backwards. That has real
consequences.
Police say if the cameras are not taken
down within 48 hours, they requested
instructions on how to properly cover
them. In Stoughton, I'm Lauren Abuzeid.