Bedford Township votes to cancel contract with Flock cameras

A community in Monroe County, Michigan, has ended its agreement with Flock cameras after officials voted in favor of a resolution to halt funding for the service in county-funded areas.

Last week's vote by the Bedford Township Downtown Development Authority came after Sheriff Troy Goodnough told board members that they could enter an individual agreement to fund Flock and allow the county to use the data to solve crimes or cancel their agreement. The board chose the latter.  

"It does have to do with the community, and the community is worried about it. I don't want to hold that hot potato, frankly, and I would make a motion that we terminate the contract immediately with Flock," said board member Joyce Blanton on Thursday.

Goodnough says other communities could soon follow suit.

"It's my understanding that Frenchtown is going to be taking it up potentially this week, and I'm not sure on Monroe Charter Township yet," said Goodnough.

Goodnough says he will pose same options to Frenchtown and Monroe Charter townships as he did to Bedrod Township.

"Either you pick up the agreement with Flock directly and sign a data sharing agreement with the sheriff's office, or send a letter to the sheriff's office asking to rescind the intergovernmental service agreement because they were no longer going to fund the devices," he said.

Goodnough says automated license plate readers have shown their value over the three years they've been used, even amid national criticism over privacy concerns.

"We truly, from a law enforcement perspective, see the value in them. We've solved a lot of crime with them. We think it's a valuable tool," he said.

Just last Wednesday, Flock cameras helped locate a person who illegally passed a school bus in Bedford Township, one day after officials voted to end their agreement.

The Monroe County resolution to end funding isn't limited to Flock; it applies to all automated license plate readers. Goodnough says he doesn't expect the county to pay for any similar service as a replacement.