Flock Safety explains drone technology amid privacy concerns in Oakland County
An Oakland County Board of Commissioners meeting earlier this month sparked a heated debate over Flock Safety cameras.
It comes weeks after officials approved a nine-month pilot program that will allow the Oakland County Sheriff's Office to utilize drones when responding to 911 calls. The pilot program is free to the county but would cost $2.5 billion if officials approve it for two years.
Since last month's approval, residents have expressed concerns about privacy.
On Monday, May 11, CBS News Detroit talked with the company for a closer look at the controversial technology.
"This tool is really to help law enforcement more effectively respond to calls for service when seconds count. After somebody makes a 911 call, it's really important that law enforcement has the information they need to respond more effectively and efficiently to those calls for service," said Paris Lewbel, a spokesman for Flock Safety.
The company says its drones can take off and be on scene within 90 seconds of a 911 call. Lewbel said the goal is to give law enforcement eyes on the scene more quickly. However, having eyes in the sky is just one of the many concerns Oakland County residents have expressed.
"Flock does not have any facial recognition technology at all, and we don't have any in development," said Lewbel.
Another concern was over license plate readers.
"It does not have license plate readers built in but it is connected to our license plate reader system, so if a car passes by a license plate reader that's connected potentially to an Amber Alert, it will automatically pop up on the screen and be able to show where that location of that license plate read occurred and then again an operator can push a button and make the drone take off to that location," said Lewbel.
Lewbel said a human operator is part of each step in deployment, except one.
"It flies to the location by itself, but then once it's on scene, the operator can manipulate the camera, zoom in on things, try to get more information," Lewbel said.
