OSHKOSH – The city isn’t taking any chances with its next tech dealer.
Oshkosh Police Department hasn’t begun looking for a successor to Flock Safety yet, saying it intends to set up an advisory committee to identify a future automated license plate reader vendor.
Police Chief Dean Smith gave the update at the June 17 Common Council meeting almost two months after the city revoked its contract with Flock Safety over integrity and trust concerns.
Who will make up the advisory committee?
According to Smith, OPD is looking for an independent cyber security company to chair a committee that hopes to include representation from the city’s information technology department, OPD and community members who support and oppose ALPR technology.
The plan is for the committee to make recommendations for an alternative ALPR vendor as well as identifying “best security and operational practices.”
“I’m not going to pigeonhole them on specifics [because] I want to hear from them,” said Smith of the board’s function.
“The challenge is that this is new ground and finding the resources available is a challenge, but it’s not a challenge we can’t overcome.”
Why is Oshkosh looking for a new ALPR vendor?
Common Council unanimously voted not to renew its contract for the contentious cameras in April less than 24 hours after approving an amended one-year agreement with Flock.
At a special April 22 meeting, Smith said he was immediately advised by officers that Flock cameras create a “heat map,” directly refuting claims to the contrary from Flock Chief Information Security Officer Chris Castaldo.
Castaldo told council member Brad Spanbauer the images captured by Flock cameras do not create a pattern of movement for vehicles while also claiming federal agencies couldn’t access Oshkosh’s data without OPD’s knowledge.
Assistant Chief of Police Brian Schuldes advised the Northwestern that OPD powered off each of Oshkosh’s 26 Flock cameras and covered the license plate readers with a bag to ensure they cannot collect data.
Oshkosh’s move to drop Flock Safety followed similar decisions by Verona, Sturgeon Bay and Dane County before Appleton and Grand Chute followed suit.
Grand Chute is switching to ALPR provider Axon, but during public comment at the June 17 Oshkosh Common Council meeting, software engineer Tanner Mann urged the council not to use the tech company because of similar security concerns.
What are Flock cameras and what are they used for?
Solar-powered cameras, Flock Safety readers are tools mounted on poles used to capture the rear of vehicles and analyze license plates to provide other vehicle data in a system.
The company’s client base was previously composed of more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies, who can search the system for plate numbers, vehicle color, vehicle type or a distinguishable feature to receive real-time alerts tracking stolen automobiles or vehicles associated with warrants or a crime.
Why did community members oppose Flock cameras?
The public has pointed to concerns about possible infringement of Fourth Amendment rights, privacy erosion, security vulnerabilities, the company’s data sharing and law enforcement misuse.
In February, Mountain View City Council in California terminated its contract with Flock after an investigation revealed more than 250 unapproved agencies conducted around 600,000 searches of the city’s records over the span of a year.
Both Milwaukee and Menasha have also seen police officers charged after using the Flock system to personally track vehicles belonging to women.
Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@usatodayco.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh leans on committee for next ALPR move after Flock fallout
Reporting by Justin Marville, Oshkosh Northwestern / Oshkosh Northwestern
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Justin Marville, Oshkosh Northwestern | USA TODAY Network
