Warren — The Police Department will keep using cameras that read license plates after a second City Council vote Tuesday narrowly renewed a contract for the technology.
Council members voted 4-3 to allow the Warren Police Department to extend a contract for the license plate reader technology for a second, two-year period for $132,000. Warren has been using the Atlanta-based Flock Safety camera system since 2021, according to Warren police Capt. Brent Chisolm.
The second vote came after Councilwoman Melody Magee asked to reconsider her vote to approve the use of the cameras in June. Magee was part of a 4-2 vote at that meeting to extend the Flock contract.
Magee, and council members Angela Rogensues and Henry Newnan voted against the renewal Tuesday night. Council members Mindy Moore, Gary Boike, Dave Dwyer and Jonathan Lafferty voted in favor.
“I’m pleased with the vote, and I’m pleased that our council did their due diligence,” said Warren police Commissioner Eric Hawkins, who was in the audience.
The decision comes as license plate reader technology faces criticism nationally and in Michigan, with some cities rejecting the use over privacy concerns. Westland, Milford, Ferndale and Clawson have decided not to renew their contracts with Flock.
Chisolm has said the use of Flock cameras has become “an integral tool” for the department.
“From recovering stolen vehicles to identifying armed robbery or murder suspects, these cameras routinely help unravel cases that might otherwise never have been resolved,” he said in a May 19 letter to the Treasurer’s Office.
Magee said that after her vote in June, constituents and organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union provided her with information about Flock Safety technology.
“People do not want it because it has a strong effect on their privacy,” she said. “They do not want it because they believe that the government is using it for ICE purposes. They do not want it because they believe that … it can cause discrimination.”
But Magee said she sees the other side of the issue, she said. She said she would want Warren’s older residents to “feel safe.”
“If something was to happen to them and … that Flock camera can help them, I would want that,” she said.
Magee said the technology to read license plates should help prevent police chases in the city.
Magee said she changed her vote because of the lack of guardrails in the city’s Flock contract.
“Knowing that I wanted guardrails inside the contract — safety guardrails that will protect our people, make them feel more comfortable and safe in their community — I said no,” she said.
The vote followed an hour of public comment. Most of the commenters were against the renewal.
“These cameras don’t just read license plates. They track where people move throughout our city and store information almost endlessly,” said Brad Gibbons, 30, of Warren.
Ferndale Councilwoman Laura Mikulski spoke at the council meeting against the renewal. She said her city canceled their contract with Flock after other agencies accessed their network and listed vague reasons for probing the data.
Asked about the negative feedback from the public, Hawkins said he respects their concerns.
“There were some very compelling arguments that were made, and I’m respectful of that. But I still maintain that this technology is something that has great value to law enforcement,” said Hawkins.
Lafferty, who voted for the renewal, said the council now has the opportunity to audit the software. He said they’ll pay attention to the access logs.
“With the attention that has been given to this by the public, the issue doesn’t stop here,” Lafferty said. “The council will investigate and look at the issue more closely while we continue to use the service.”
mbryan@detroitnews.com
asnabes@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Warren renews Flock contract after councilwoman asks to reconsider
Reporting by Max Bryan and Anne Snabes, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Max Bryan and Anne Snabes, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
