A public affairs representative for one of the most controversial surveillance technology companies in the U.S. is in the hot seat today, Aug. 26, at the Columbus Metropolitan Club.
The noon CMC forum comes two days after activists interrupted Columbus City Council's meeting to demand the city join the wave of communities across the country getting rid of Flock Safety's automated license plate reading cameras. These cameras have proliferated in recent years, capturing license plates and other details about vehicles that pass in towns big and small.
Columbus Division of Police leaders say the cameras help solve homicides and other crimes and find missing persons. Opponents of the cameras, including the American Civil Liberties Union, object to
the constant surveillance and point to reports that data has been accessed for immigration enforcement as well as stalking or other personal uses by some police officers.
The Columbus community will get to hear four perspectives on Flock cameras in the panel discussion, "Who's Watching? The Fight Over Flock Cameras" at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, 300 W. Broad St. Panel members will include: Trevor Chandler, senior director of public affairs for Flock Safety; Gary Daniels, legislative director for the ACLU of Ohio; Columbus police Assistant Chief Nick Konves, and Columbus City Councilmember Emmanuel Remy. The panel will be moderated by Dispatch reporter Anna Lynn Winfrey.
Flock has faced increased scrutiny in Columbus since a police audit of Columbus' data found more than 15,000 searches possibly related to immigration enforcement and Mayor Andrew Ginther ordered police to stop sharing with the statewide network in July. The city previously pulled out of the nationwide network in June.
Remy, who chairs City Council's public safety committee, says nothing is off the table as council considers what to do next regarding Flock Safety, but he's repeatedly said he sees these cameras as a powerful tool for solving crimes.
The city's contract with Flock is up for renewal in December. Remy is one vote on a nine-member council. Two other councilmembers have said they would like to see the cameras removed immediately.
Columbus police leaders say they have endeavored to put in place restrictions on how they use the cameras in recent months.
Flock Safety's representatives have said that all clients of Flock own their data and choose who can access it. The company has rolled out recent changes, including filters so clients can opt out of immigration and abortion-related searches and audit tools so clients can catch unusual search patterns. Earlier this month, Flock changed the default data retention policy to seven days, down from 30.
This story will be updated after the forum.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Watch Flock, ACLU, police leaders debate camera program
