Livingston County Flock cameras pulled down after vandalism

The Flock cameras are now coming down across Livingston County.

Livingston County Sheriff Michael Murphy says about six have been damaged, costing his office about $5,000 so far.

"Some of them were just cut down. Some of them looked like they had a baseball bat taken to them, but they were inoperable," said Murphy.

Murphy says taxpayers are footing that bill, and he doesn't want to keep paying to repair them.

"We've solved homicides, we've solved armed robberies, we've solved petty theft, stolen vehicles, I can't tell you how many, guns we've taken off the street, drugs we've taken off the street as a result of these," said Murphy.

But as the sheriff defends the technology, some state lawmakers say Michigan needs rules governing how license plate data is used.

"Some of my constituents probably love us to just ban them, but we know that they do have a benefit when used properly. So, plus, there's no appetite for banning in the legislature right now," said state Rep. Jimmie Wilson Jr. (D-Ypsilanti).

Wilson is behind house legislation that would require most license plate data to be deleted after 30 days and limit who can access it.

In the Senate, Republican Sen. Jim Runestad is pushing his own bill that would set a 14-day retention limit in most cases.

"Currently, there's no rule; you can keep it forever. That's not necessary in most cases. Fourteen days is sufficient. If law enforcement could persuade the committee that we need 30, well, we can look at that, but right now, there's nothing," said Runestad (R-White Lake).

While Murphy says the removal is temporary, his office is now looking at whether the cameras can be placed higher, hardened against damage, or even monitored by other cameras before they go back up.