STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — A set of license plate-reading Flock cameras installed across Steubenville has sparked a debate over how the city makes security decisions and who should have a say before the technology is put in place.
Steubenville 4th Ward Councilman Royal Mayo said he wants changes to city policy and communication after learning the cameras had already been installed.
“When the cameras first came, when I first heard about the cameras coming, it had been eight, nine months in,” Mayo said.
Mayo said he did not know what the cameras were when he first learned about them and said they had already been in the city since September.
“But I didn’t know what they were, and they had been here since September and I firmly believe that is definitely a policy decision, not an administrative decision,” he said.
RELATED: Steubenville Council votes 6-1 to keep Flock safety cameras in place citywide
Mayo said he hopes the situation becomes a learning point for how the city handles certain matters and how communication happens between different organizations. He said the process should have included city council and the public before the cameras were installed.
“The communication should have been a request from the police to the council if we want this or not then a discussion, the public hearings for the people to weigh in and then we make a decision,” Mayo said.
Looking ahead, Mayo said he remains hopeful about the outcome he wants, even though the issue did not unfold the way he wanted within city government. He said he wants the cameras removed and noted that council has already voted 6-1, with him casting the lone dissenting vote.
“I want to see them come down, but we already voted six to one of course, me being the lone dissenting vote, but ultimately it’ll come down to the people,” Mayo said. “Right now it’s in the Supreme Court. They may come down without us even having to do anything about it.”
Discussions about the Flock cameras remain ongoing.