Columbus City Council will hold a hearing Monday night on Flock Safety license plate reading cameras as controversy about the surveillance technology mounts locally and nationwide and activists plan a protest outside City Hall.
Opponents of the AI-powered network of cameras object to the constant surveillance and that the tool could be misused, including for immigration enforcement. Columbus Police leaders and proponents of the system highlight the automated cameras' powerful ability to help solve crimes and find missing people.
The 4 p.m. hearing will include presentations from Columbus Division of Police leadership, a Flock Safety representative and a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.
The hearing will take place a month
after Columbus Police released an audit that found more than 15,000 possibly immigration enforcement-related searches of city data. As Columbus prohibits city resources from being used for civil immigration enforcement, the audit prompted Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther to pull back on sharing data with other police departments statewide. Earlier in July, Columbus Police pulled out of the national network of sharing. Columbus still shares data one-to-one with hundreds of other municipalities.
A coalition of activist groups calling themselves the Safety Not Surveillance Coalition is planning a protest for 3 p.m. outside City Hall ahead of the hearing. The coalition is calling for the immediate cancellation of Flock contracts in Columbus and across central Ohio. The group includes the People's Justice Project, 614 ICE Watch, Common Cause Ohio and representatives with the Columbus Democratic Socialists of America.
Besides concerns about Flock data possibly being used for immigration enforcement, people opposed to Flock license-plate cameras also question the day-to-day surveillance of every vehicle that passes. These automated cameras capture details on passing cars, including license plates, vehicle make and model, dents and bumper stickers, and store the data for 30 days.
Recent reports have highlighted the misuse of Flock data by a Columbus police officer and two Reynoldsburg police officers. The two Reynoldsburg officers resigned before an internal investigation could be completed but one was accused of searching for a former domestic partner's license plate repeatedly. In Columbus, an officer could face discipline for using the cameras to investigate a traffic crash he was involved in.
Columbus City Councilmember Emmanuel Remy, who chairs the council's public safety committee, has said the city audit raises serious questions about how the city uses Flock technology. But he also said the cameras can be an important tool for solving violent crime and protecting neighborhoods.
Police leadership and Ginther have also praised Flock cameras as a game changing tool for police in recent years.
Councilmembers Lourdes Barroso de Padilla and Melissa Green have suggested they're more open to getting rid of the cameras.
No vote is scheduled at the Aug. 10 hearing.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus weighs future of Flock cameras amid mounting criticism
