Sheriff pauses Flock use as tech ruffles feathers nationwide
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
The Flock fracas has officially landed in Hamilton County. Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey recently paused her office's use of the company's license plate readers over privacy concerns.
Why it matters: The move adds Hamilton County to a Greater Cincinnati and nationwide reckoning over technology police say helps solve crimes but critics fear can be used to track people's movements.
Driving the news: McGuffey says she wants clearer answers about where vehicle data picked up by the camera goes, who can access it and what safeguards prevent misuse.
- She wants to eventually restore access because she considers the cameras a valuable crime-fighting tool — but only with additional privacy guardrails.
Zoom out: At least seven other Greater Cincinnati communities have ended or moved away from Flock programs: Newport, Independence, Fort Mitchell, Erlanger and Fort Thomas in Northern Kentucky, plus Oxford and Pierce Township.
- Newport declined to make its pilot permanent, while Oxford voted 6-1 last month to terminate its contract amid privacy and data-sharing concerns.
- Protesters in Hamilton have also pushed for the cameras' removal.
By the numbers: More than 1,100 license plate readers are deployed across Greater Cincinnati, according to an Enquirer analysis of public records from more than 100 police departments.
The other side: Local police have credited the cameras with helping identify burglary suspects and track a suspect's vehicle after a deadly Mason shooting.
Yes, but: Critics worry the technology can be used to reconstruct people's movements or be misused by officers.
- Two officers in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, are among those nationwide who have faced investigations over alleged misuse of Flock data.
Meanwhile, Lebanon Mayor Mark Messer is pressing Flock for more information about its privacy safeguards, even as the city's 20 cameras have helped police, he says.
- Lebanon has disabled broader state and nationwide plate lookups, requires case numbers for searches and conducts audits.
What they're saying: Flock says it's strengthening privacy controls, including reducing its recommended default data-retention period from 30 days to seven.
The bottom line: McGuffey's pause underscores how quickly the debate has shifted: Greater Cincinnati police aren't giving up on Flock, but more communities are demanding stronger privacy protections to keep using it.