MADISON COUNTY, Ga. - The Madison County Sheriff's Office has cut ties with Flock Safety, announcing that the license plate reading system is simply not worth the financial cost.
What we know:
The sheriff's office confirmed that it ended its relationship with Flock Safety as of September after utilizing the system for a couple of years.
Officials explained that while the automated license plate reader platform served as a potentially useful investigative tool, the department determined the benefits were not worth the continuing expense.
Deputies noted that while the cameras remain physically mounted along local roadways, they are powered down, inactive, and not photographing any passing vehicles.
What they're saying:
The Madison County Sheriff's Office addressed the contract cancellation and the ongoing equipment removal process in a public statement:
"After using the system for a couple years we have decided that while FLOCK is a potentially useful investigative tool, the benefits are simply not worth the financial cost," the sheriff's office said. "While FLOCK has been a little harder to work with during the removal process than we had expected, the cameras will be removed in the next few weeks."
Flock Safety has not released a public statement regarding the contract termination.
Dig deeper:
Headquartered in Atlanta, Flock Safety operates automated license plate networks for hundreds of police departments, sheriff's offices, and neighborhood associations statewide.
However, the technology has faced mounting legal and legislative pushback. In recent months, law enforcement employees in Savannah, Milton, Vidalia, Coweta County, Hall County and other Georgia jurisdictions have faced termination or criminal charges over allegations of using the system for unauthorized personal searches.
With early voting underway and the general election two weeks away, digital surveillance has emerged as a key issue on campaign trails and in legislative circles.
Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock joined Alabama Sen. Katie Britt in sending a formal letter urging Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Department of Justice to establish nationwide guardrails for local police use of automated license plate readers.
The technology took center stage during the Georgia gubernatorial debate earlier this month after a Fulton County voter questioned candidates on privacy protections in Atlanta.
Local perspective:
Located in Northeast Georgia roughly 85 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta, just past Athens, Madison County has a population of about 30,000 residents.
What we don't know:
The sheriff's office did not disclose the specific annual cost of the contract or state how many Flock cameras were installed across Madison County during the partnership.
It's unclear if the recent pushback against the technology led to the sheriff's office decision.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Madison County Sheriff's Office and previous FOX 5 reports.