'A balancing act': Cobb County police chief addresses camera privacy concerns
Cobb County residents confront chief over camera tech
Chief Farrell defended the department's 182 license plate cameras during a Smyrna town hall meeting. The local police chief addressed resident concerns about hacking, privacy violations, and technology misuse following recent officer arrests across Georgia
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Cobb County Police Chief James Ferrell met with concerned residents Thursday night at a town hall at the Milford Recreation Center in Smyrna to defend the department's use of Flock license-plate cameras amid statewide scrutiny over police misuse.
Cobb County Flock cameras
What we know:
Cobb County police currently lease 182 Flock cameras positioned throughout the area. Ferrell said his department uses the automated license-plate readers to locate missing people and track down criminals. System access is strictly restricted to sworn law enforcement officers and trained analysts, according to the chief.
Police camera privacy concerns
What we don't know:
A Flock representative attended the meeting but refused to speak on camera to FOX 5 Atlanta when asked about specific company guardrails.
Surveillance camera misuse arrests
The backstory:
The public meeting follows a wave of trouble across Georgia, where dozens of law enforcement officers have been accused of using Flock technology for illegal purposes. Officers face accusations in Habersham, DeKalb, and Cherokee counties, as well as in Conyers and Albany. Residents packed the Smyrna meeting after learning how the technology tracks vehicle movements.
License plate reader safeguards
What they're saying:
"They can see how we use it, what we do with it, and they can make a judgment of their own on that," Ferrell said regarding public oversight. The chief said his department conducts monthly, internal audits. "Those policies have been in place, the officers have been trained, we audit, and we have a lot of oversight over the system itself and that has helped prevent some of the misuse in our department," Ferrell said.
Some residents are skeptical. "I am against the flock cameras," Arthur Pauley said. "The fact that these can track our movements far better than other cameras is what’s worrying," Caylor said the technology’s use in solving crimes "doesn’t outweigh the risks of it." He called the issue "very concerning. The fact that is a close enough issue that there are debates about it, seems like we should have had these meeting before thousands of them went up across the country."
Ferrell said he understood residents’ concerns. "There’s always going to be a balancing act," Ferrell said. "Balancing the constitutional rights of the people we serve versus keeping our community safe. It is part of our responsibility in law enforcement to make sure that we keep that balance intact."
The other side:
A Flock representative defended the technology to the audience.
"We at Flock care about safeguards and guardrails." The representative told attendees the company "solved 10,000 missing people last year and over 1-million crimes in this country. We’ve adapted to the moment. That’s the reason we adapted new safeguard going from 30 days to 70 days default retention".
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Cobb County Police Chief James Ferrell, who spoke at a public town hall, as well as local residents Arthur Pauley and Jacob Caylor, a Flock representative, and reporting by FOX 5.