City Agrees To Research Flock Camera Use

During last week’s council meeting at which about 20 people were in attendance to protest the use of Flock camera systems, the Mountain View City Council requested the police chief find out why some cities have discontinued use of camera systems used for license plate detection.

The City of Mountain View operates two Flock Safety cameras with license plate recognition capability, and there are other cameras in town that have been used to determine such things as who was at fault in a collision.

Resident Michael Stewart said he objects to the use of the cameras because they can collect information on individuals and the people being monitored have no way to opt out. He said he appreciates the work of local officers and he believes officers can do their work without the cameras. He asked the council to consider the longterm privacy considerations.

Other residents asked if the use of cameras could be put to a referendum to be voted on by the public.

Police Chief George Bethell explained that the cameras do not track vehicles, but if a plate is detected that is connected to an active investigation, the system issues an alert. Only one officer, Lt. Jeremy Beaudin, is authorized to access the system. Bethell explained previously that an active case number must be used to grant access.

Bethell explained that the system had recently assisted Searcy County law enforcement in solving a murder case. The camera system detected the license plate of the person’s vehicle in Mountain View and “blew his timeline.”

The system saves still images of vehicles along with the time and location, and all information is flushed every 30 days.
One of the audience member requested documentation that specifies those limitations, and how much information the Flock company itself can access.

In other business, the council accepted an offer from Lisa Murphy to sponsor two days per week of free swimming at the public pool. She had inquired about buying multiple family and individual season passes to distribute to low-income residents, but council members thought that providing free days for the remainder of the season in exchange for the $2,000 would potentially benefit more people.

Free days will be Saturdays and Wednesdays.

Murphy posted to social media that she is providing the service in memory and honor of her grandson Bentley, who died last year at age 17.

On another topic, Chamber of Commerce treasurer Shawna Board updated the council on the group’s recent activities and the ongoing research into sales tax obligations. She said there was a verbal agreement on forgiveness of a previous balance and she now believes the Chamber owes the state $2,500 rather than the much larger balance discussed at the previous meeting.