Asheville has ended its contract with Flock Safety, the surveillance camera company under fire in the city and across the nation over privacy concerns and the potential for misuse of stored data by police.
Flock’s automated license plate readers have been the subject of intense debate in Asheville and nationwide. Asheville police have said they have safeguards that protect the public from Flock's misuse, but critics, including some members of the Asheville City Council, have expressed broad concerns.
Many residents also have questions about what's next.
Are Asheville's Flock cameras turned off?
APD spokesperson Rick Rice told the Citizen Times on Aug. 26 that department personnel no longer have access to Flock camera data, although Flock Safety will have to turn off and physically remove
the cameras.
Can I find out if I was picked up on an Asheville Flock camera?
There is no way for a person to know if their data has been collected by the 11 Flock cameras positioned in Asheville, Rice said.
What's next for surveillance cameras in Asheville?
As part of the resolution the City Council passed Aug. 25, the city manager has been asked to review the city's use of Flock technology and provide City Council with the following information:
- The categories of investigations for which Flock Technology may appropriately be used in the future.
- Appropriate restrictions on searches and access to Flock collected data.
- Flock data retention and deletion.
- Sharing of Flock data with federal, state, local, and out-of-state law-enforcement agencies or other third parties.
- The auditing and documentation of searches and access.
- Protection of information relating to immigration enforcement, reproductive health care, First Amendment-protected activity, and other sensitive activities to the maximum extent permitted by law.
- Transparency and public reporting regarding the city's use of Flock Technology.
- Mechanisms for oversight and accountability, including consequences for unauthorized use.
- Whether the city should resume use of Flock Technology and, if so, what policies and safeguards should be adopted before such use resumes.
What about the Flock cameras that Buncombe County uses?
Sheriff's Office spokesperson Matt Marshall told the Citizen Times on Aug. 24 that the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office operates 22 automated license plate reader cameras.
Flock cameras were placed in Buncombe County approximately three years ago, when the Real-Time Intelligence Center was established, Marshall said. The county pays $31,000 annually to use the cameras, according to its contract with Flock Safety, which was obtained by the Citizen Times.
Who has access to Buncombe County's Flock cameras?
Fifty-one sheriff's office employees have access to the county's Flock system, including Real-Time Intelligence Center personnel; deputies working in the Criminal Investigations Division; the Sheriff's Office's Illegal Gun Reduction and Narcotics Task Force; and command staff, Marshall said.
Will Asheville police access data from Buncombe County's Flock cameras?
Rice said that APD is evaluating what the impacts of the resolution will be. In addition to the Buncombe County Flock cameras, Flock says it has cameras in 6,000 communities in 49 states. The company has the ability to make its data shareable between police agencies.
Who will conduct Asheville's Flock cameras review?
The council asked the city manager to include an independent civil liberties policy reviewer who has experience advising North Carolina municipalities.
During the review period, the city will not use Flock Technology, according to the resolution.
How much will it cost Asheville to end its Flock contract?
The city will pay Flock $33,333 for the remainder of the contract.
Is the end of the use of surveillance cameras in Asheville?
Not necessarily.
At the Aug. 25 city council meeting, council member Kim Roney moved to pause purchasing new license plate readers during the review process. The motion died when no other member seconded it.
And the resolution passed Aug. 25 did not address the city's use of Axon camera technology.
In May, the Asheville City Council voted to accept federal funding to create a real-time intelligence center of its own. The center, based at police headquarters in downtown Asheville, will use Axon Fusus software to connect public and private cameras to the police network and aggregate that data at the department's intelligence center, the Citizen Times previously reported.
Jimmy Wingo, law enforcement technology manager for the Asheville Police Department, told the Citizen Times on Aug. 19 the city is getting five new cameras as part of the Axon contract and Axon cameras will be subject to the same safeguards that guided the city's use of Flock. Those cameras will have capabilities beyond reading license plates, Wingo said.
Jen Hampton, an Asheville-based union organizer, said that people she's spoken with in the community have a wide variety of questions, particularly about the Axon contract and how long Axon retains data.
She questioned why, if the city isn't going to simply replace the Flock cameras with Axon cameras, city officials don't also pause the purchase of Axon cameras.
"I'm not sold on it not being a bait and switch. I feel like it is very much performative. They were so scared of the backlash they were getting," Hampton said. "There are other options, I just really wonder if city council is serious about listening to us now about this issue, if they will listen to these solutions before making any changes."
Kara Fohner is the Public Safety Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email her at kfohner@usatodayco.com or call her at 980-241-8671.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Surveillance fears linger in Asheville after city ends Flock contract
