APPLETON (NBC 26) — Mayor Jake Woodford announced Wednesday the city of Appleton is ending its use of Flock safety cameras.
In a statement, Woodford said:
"After careful consideration, taking into account the feedback from our community and our own concerns, we are beginning the process of ending our use of Flock Safety’s system in the City of Appleton. Automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology has proven instrumental in solving cases, recovering stolen property, and locating missing people and we believe that if an alternative option is identified, it is an important capability to maintain for our community. That being said, concerns about the integrity of Flock’s underlying system have eroded our trust.
The Appleton Police Department has long instituted strong internal controls over use of the product and data and has enhanced its policies to protect the public in recent months. However, such rigorous standards cannot be verified beyond the boundaries of our jurisdiction. Examples of illegitimate use of Flock data by personnel in other departments with access to the system reinforce accountability concerns that are not under the City of Appleton’s control as a customer.
Recent events in a neighboring community have also raised questions about the accuracy of information Flock Safety provides to its customers. Regardless of the specific details, we hold ourselves to the highest standard in matters involving the public’s personal data."
According to the office of the mayor, the city is analyzing its current terms for Flock use and plan to bring forward a recommendation to the Common Council "if their action is required to terminate use."
This comes after Oshkosh rejected Flock citing heatmap-tracking concerns. Sturgeon Bay was another city in Northeast Wisconsin to recently get rid of their Flock contract.
