Flock cameras to be removed from Coshocton County

COSHOCTON, Ohio – According to a Facebook post from the the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Christopher Walters has made the decision to remove Flock cameras from the county. In the new release attached to the post, the decision was based on public push back on the cameras.

“While I believe there is absolutely no constitutional concerns, if the electorate doesn’t want the technology there, my office won’t use it,” Walters wrote in the press release.

Flock cameras are the largest brand of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR), AI-powered cameras that capture and analyzes images of every vehicle that passes by them. They also store information like location, make, model, color, identifying damage to the vehicle in a searchable data base. Since these cameras are set up in public spaces, a warrant is not required for law enforcement agencies to access that data.

“While we understand the value Flock cameras can provide in certain investigations, we also recognize the growing number of concerned citizens,” Walters wrote.

Public push back is largely over privacy concerns and multiple instances have been documented of law enforcement members abusing access to Flock camera data. For example, two officers in Reynoldsburg, Ohio have resigned after alleged misuse of the cameras database.

According to Atlas of Surveillance, a database of surveillance technologies deployed by law enforcement in communities across the United States, there were 11 cameras operating in Coshocton County.