County DA to address license plate reader issue
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Chautauqua County's district attorney has been receiving some criticism regarding some License Plate Readers, commonly referred to as Flock cameras, that were recently installed in the village of Fredonia.
Those criticisms continued at Wednesday's Chautauqua County Legislature meeting.
At the meeting, both Pomfret Councilman Mike Lee and Fredonia Trustee Christine Cruz-Keefe were in attendance, questioning the License Plate Readers.
"Flock cameras are a nationwide surveillance program. There's no oversight, accountability or justification. These cameras are a dragnet mass surveillance tool that Flock and law enforcement can use to constantly track people in our community without a warrant, without suspicion of criminal activity and without any accountability," Lee said. "It flies in the face of our values as Americans and it's in direct opposition to the Fourth Amendment, which protects us from unreasonable search and seizure."
After Lee spoke, Cruz-Keefe said she, too, has concerns. "As elected officials, it is our duty to advocate for our community's privacy and transparency. Many of our residents have expressed deep concerns about mass surveillance and the scope of data being collected," she said.
Two other residents from Fredonia spoke at the legislature meeting as well, both expressing opposition to Flock cameras.
The next day, District Attorney Jason Schmidt was reached by phone. He said that he will be attending the Fredonia Village Board meeting on Monday to address any concerns residents have.
Schmidt did confirm the Flock products were installed by his department. He said his office received a state grant that funded nine Flock License Plate Readers. Seven are on private property in the Fredonia/Pomfret area. One was placed in the city of Dunkirk on public property, with the Department of Development's consent.
His office also received funding to install a Flock digital camera on village property. Schmidt said it was approved by Mayor Michael Ferguson.
Along with the one Flock License Plate Reader, Dunkirk has another eight cameras. They were installed by DFT and are monitored by city police in a closed system. Schmidt said his office helped fund them because the city paid for them but ran out of money when the time came to install them.
Schmidt said other municipalities may have their own License Plate Readers or other cameras, but his office didn't fund them.
He said there was one Flock Camera used in Chautauqua Institution that helped capture an alleged kidnapper.
Schmidt said there are other crimes that the Flock products have helped them solve as well. He said they are designed to help both police and prosecutors.