New Hanover County commissioners detail Flock camera use; end contract with program

1 hour ago

Kamy Smelser,

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, N.C. (WWAY-TV) — New Hanover County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to cancel the county’s contract with the Flock Safety camera program following widespread public scrutiny over concerns about privacy.

The 4-0 vote came days after commissioners met with the New Hanover County sheriff, who presented information about how the cameras operate and the type of data they can capture.

Mark Williams, an attorney and founder of the anti-Flock group DeFlock ILM, applauded the decision.

“I want to jump for joy,” Williams said.

Williams said ending the contract is a step in the right direction.

“My hat is off to the county commissioners. We thank them for taking resident concerns seriously,” Williams said.

Commissioner Rob Zapple said the sheriff’s presentation highlighted how detailed the cameras’ artificial intelligence technology can be, including the ability to zoom in on people near the cameras.

“There’s no doubt that it has the ability to push in on someone, and it’s the amount of detail that these cameras can pick up so quickly which is frightening, but still most often the camera is focused on the license plate,” Zapple said.

Zapple said that if the county ever considers bringing the program back, additional safeguards should be put in place. He said those could include regular independent judicial reviews to audit how the system is being used on a weekly or monthly basis.

“But right now that’s not in place, and I would look forward to having those kinds of controls and those kinds of oversights so that there’s no chance for this new technology to be abused,” Zapple said.

County officials said the county-owned cameras have already been deactivated. Flock Safety will be responsible for removing the cameras.

However, some Flock cameras owned by the state will remain in place, including cameras along Interstate 40.

Williams said his group will continue pushing for the removal of all Flock cameras.

“Every citizen needs to be asking their representatives where they stand on this,” Williams said.

WWAY has reached out to the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office for comment on the canceled contract but had not received a response as of publication.