ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — The St. Petersburg City Council is set to discuss Flock cameras Thursday afternoon as debate continues over the crime-fighting technology and potential privacy concerns.
The discussion is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and will focus on the city’s contract with Flock Safety and the future use of the cameras.
St. Petersburg already has about 50 Flock cameras across the city. The automated license plate reader cameras can capture images of vehicles and identify details including license plates, make, model and color.
Police leaders have praised the technology, saying it gives investigators another tool to track suspect vehicles and solve crimes faster. But critics argue the cameras can create a record of where law-abiding people travel as they pass through different locations.
“They can track us,” said Carl Gunn, a member of Flock Blocker, who believes the cameras should be removed.
The debate comes after some Flock cameras were vandalized and multiple Bay Area law enforcement officers were arrested and accused of misusing Flock databases to track civilians.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also called for the state Legislature to consider regulations surrounding Flock cameras and other forms of digital surveillance.
“No one’s been stronger on law enforcement than me, but I don’t want to have this become a surveillance state,” DeSantis said. “I think people are right to be concerned.”
City Council members are expected to weigh those concerns against the benefits police say the cameras provide during Thursday afternoon’s discussion.
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