Columbus City Councilmember Emmanuel Remy is asking the Division of Police to audit its Flock Safety license-plate reading cameras to make sure the data collected isn’t being used for immigration enforcement.
“If our Flock systems are being used inappropriately by federal enforcement or any other agencies to enforce immigration law or to infringe on civil liberties, then that is entirely unacceptable and I will bring legislation to curb their use,” Remy said.
Remy’s remarks come after revelations in Cleveland and Dayton last month that their data was appearing in immigration-related searches of Flock data by other law enforcement agencies. Dayton has suspended its Flock program and put bags over the cameras.
Since 2024, Columbus has contracted with Flock Safety for automated license plate-reading cameras. The city has nearly 50 Flock LPR cameras deployed across the city and plans to deploy nearly 30 more. Flock has contracts with thousands of U.S. cities, including some Columbus suburbs. The company has come under increased scrutiny in pro-immigrant cities after widespread reporting on Flock data being searched for immigration enforcement purposes.
Remy, who chairs the council’s public safety committee, said he intends to hold a public council hearing once the division completes its audit. The Dispatch has a pending records request for audit records on the city’s Flock license plate reading cameras.
Remy brought the topic of Flock up at a June 1 council meeting. An hour-long discussion ensued among the council, which has taken a strong pro-immigrant stance and unanimously passed legislation in February intended to curb federal immigration enforcement in the city.
During the meeting, council members questioned Deputy Police Chief Tim Myers about how city police are using Flock cameras and how the division is safeguarding city data.
Columbus shares its Flock camera-captured data with other law enforcement agencies in exchange for accessing the national database of Flock data. Myers said that in December, the Division of Police opted into a filtering feature meant to prevent its data from being searched for immigration investigations. Columbus also opted to filter out investigations related to abortions.
Myers admitted that somebody searching the system could lie and enter a different reason for their search. That’s why, he said the division is asking Flock to implement a new filter so the city can stop sharing data with any law enforcement agency with a 287(G) agreement, an agreement to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Councilmembers Lourdes Barroso de Padilla and Melissa Green said directly they’re concerned about the city’s Flock cameras. Green said the city cannot afford to wait for a thorough audit.
“It is well documented that we have bad actors out there that are using every tool they can get their hands on to target individuals and violate their due process under the law,” Green said. “We cannot continue moving forward with a technology that yes, does help us solve crimes, while at the same time, it could be used to commit others.”
Barroso de Padilla said federal immigration enforcement agencies are not following a code of ethics.
“I just have to ask myself, how are you protecting people,” Barroso de Padilla said. “I’m still not comfortable that the return on investment that we’re making is not putting people in danger.”
When The Dispatch wrote about Flock cameras in March, a Flock Safety spokesperson said each Flock customer fully owns and controls its data. They said Flock does not have any contracts with ICE and there is no back-door access.
Beyond Flock, Remy said he is also asking the Division of Police to develop a unified policy on surveillance technology, which he would consider bringing to council to codify in law. He said the policy should address Flock and other technologies the city currently uses, but also address any future technologies.
Myers said the Division of Police is always trying to balance the public safety uses of a surveillance tool with privacy and other factors. He said Flock data has helped in police investigations, including into violent crimes.
Remy brought up Flock before the City Council voted on a contract for a different piece of police surveillance technology. The council unanimously passed a $661,500 contract renewal for gunshot detectors with SoundThinking Inc., formerly known as ShotSpotter.
Columbus’ current two-year contract with Flock is for $228,000.
Flock use around Ohio
Columbus isn’t the only city talking about Flock, nationally or in Ohio.
Dayton suspended the use of its Flock license plate reading cameras last month after the Dayton Police Department found out its Flock data was accessed for immigration-related searches more than 7,000 times. This happened despite city officials believing the data would not be used for immigration searches.
In late May, an investigation by The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com found immigration-related searches in Cleveland’s Flock camera audit logs. This happened despite Cleveland authorities saying they turned on a feature months ago to block these searches. The city blamed Flock for mistakenly accessing data from the city’s new drone program for a few days.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus council demands Flock camera guardrails over immigration use
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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