On Monday night at the Christ Church Methodist Church in downtown Troy, local residents participated in-person and virtually in a Flock Cameras Teach-In presented by experts in criminal investigation and computer science. The event was hosted by Troy Residents against Flock Cameras and No Kings Collective.

QUOTES FROM TEACH-IN

“We don’t have constitutional protections being acted upon by many people in power. I think this is a dangerous place that we’re currently in in this country,” said presenter John Cutro, referring to the Flock cameras and the growing surveillance state. Cutro is a licensed criminal investigator with decades of experience.

“The [Flock] data belongs to Troy and is accessible to some people in the police department. [Using the Flock national network], other departments can access it. There was an incident in January where some Flock cameras were accessible on the internet. You can see a live video feed. That was not intentional, but it happened,” said presenter Jack Hankin, a student at RPI studying computer science.

“We, the citizens of Troy, never consented to these cameras? Technology?, and the city council never approved this Flock contract. The Troy police say that they do not share the Troy (Flock camera) data with ICE. But that doesn’t mean that ICE can’t get their hands on it. There have been police agencies across the country that have shared ALPR data with ICE, which puts people of color at risk,” said presenter Bryan Paz-Hernandez, teacher, Troy resident and facilitator of Troy Residents against Flock Cameras.

Other quotes:

“There’s reduction of crime, prevention of crime, and then there’s solving of crime. They certainly do not prevent crime. And I think that we should put more resources on crime prevention and setting up the conditions in a society where there would be fewer crimes.”

“The Troy police say that they do not share the Troy (Flock camera) data with ICE. But that doesn’t mean that ICE can’t get their hands on it. There have been police agencies across the country that have shared Flock ALPR data with ICE, which puts people of color at risk.”

“According to 404 Media, ICE has accessed Flock nationwide network of these ALPR cameras even though there is no direct contract between Flock and ICE. How do they do this? Through backdoor channels. ICE gets its access indirectly by asking local state police to run searches on its behalf.”

NOTES FROM TEACH-IN

The why: Flock Safety is a flawed and dangerous company that is surveilling drivers without our knowledge or consent.

- Its automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras are used by law enforcement.

National Threat to Personal Privacy:

- Flock is operating a national network of scanned license plates that police can access to track vehicles, within and beyond the location in which images are captured.

- More than 90,000 Flock cameras are in use across the U.S.

Local Concerns:

- The original Flock contract was never approved by the Troy City Council. The police department implemented Flock cameras in 2021.

- No one in Troy voted for Flock - neither residents nor elected officials made this determination. Troy PD did.

Community Members Demanding Flock Out!

- On March 19th, over 100 people showed up to a Troy City Council meeting to oppose the Flock cameras being used to surveil our community.

- Most city council members are against Flock cameras.

- While ALPR technology is a mainstay across the city, we must ensure guardrails that ensure personal privacy and protect our most vulnerable community members.

ALPRs are an extension of racial injustice:

- Research shows that the cameras were more likely to scan people in a an area with a higher density of black and brown people than white people

Misuse and privacy concerns:

- While Troy uses two factor authentication, not all police departments do and it’s not mandated by Flock.

- In CA - plate readers give access to other agencies.

If you want to host a teach-in in your neighborhood, feel free to reach out to me and I can help you set it up in your community.