Abington Township will hold vote to replace Flock camera system after privacy concerns
Abington Township will vote to replace controversial Flock camera system
Township officials in Abington will decide whether or not to replace the controversial Flock camera system, citing concerns about surveillance and data leaks.
ABINGTON, Pa. - Township officials in Abington will hold a vote to replace the controversial Flock cameras system following concerns about privacy and data sharing.
What is Flock?
What we know:
Flock is a surveillance technology company based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operates a vast nationwide network of cameras that record license plate numbers and other characteristics of passing vehicles everyday. Flock has been used to help find missing seniors, catch car thieves, and provide evidence in high-profile criminal cases.
Despite its successes, more than 50 agencies or jurisdictions have canceled, suspended or rejecte
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d a contract or deactivated their cameras since the beginning of the year, according to a tracker maintained by DeFlock, a grassroots group formed to track the use of license plate reader technology and push back against it. Cameras around the country have also been vandalized.
Abuses have also drawn widespread attention. The Washington Post reported earlier this month finding nearly 50 instances of police officers charged or accused of using the cameras for unauthorized purposes, many for tracking current or former romantic partners or family members.
What would replace Flock in Abington?
Local perspective:
If Abington votes to discontinue its use of Flock cameras, it will replace it with another camera system from Axon Enterprises.
The potential contract with Axon is a five-year deal that will cost $7k annually, including two cameras, installation fees, and two licenses for Axon's automated license plate reader.
Like Flock, the Axon system also stores images and data from every car that passes. However, Axon says it puts limits on data sharing, ensuring that Abington's data is not duplicated in the systems of other departments.
The Axon cameras could arrive in mid-September and go into effect as soon as October. One of Abington's contracts with Flock that they are unable to get out of will continue to run until 2028.
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Data leaks lead to vote on Flock cameras
The backstory:
Abington, like other municipalities in other states, raised the red flag about Flock over privacy concerns.
The township experienced a Flock data leak through record requests from agencies in other states.
Flock cameras near you
What you can do:
To find a Flock camera near you, visit DontGetFlocked.com.
Users are able to type in any address or route, to see where Flock cameras are near their location.
The Source: Information in this article provided by the Associated Press, previous reports from FOX Television Stations, and Abington Township.