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The controversy over deployment of Flock Systems cameras in the north county should serve as a lesson for the rest of the county's local governments to be transparent with the types of video camera systems they are using.
District Attorney Jason Schmidt recently attended a Fredonia Village Board meeting to defend the camera's placement and use. We aren't going to debate whether or not there is a need for video surveillance of some busy areas as county police agencies try to use technology to solve crimes. There is such a need. We have no doubt that cameras – whether they are doorbell cameras, private security system cameras or closed-circuit cameras installed by police agencies over the past two decades – have helped to solve violent crimes.
We also aren't going to debate whether or not systems like Flock are rife with the potential for abuse. Recent history shows they are. We have expressed concern in this space – recently, we may add – about the constant intrusion of camera systems and the increasing presence of surveillance. But we aren't naive enough to suggest there should be no camera systems.
The question before us as a county is how do we move forward. Schmidt's proposal to have a countywide monitoring group to meet with the district attorney every quarter to ensure against potential abuses of Flock’s open network and addressing other local concerns is a good step. That offer should apply to any open-network camera system, because while we doubt many local governments are going to look to Flock Cameras in the near future there are other providers who haven't taken the public battering Flock has taken in recent months that may fly under the public's radar.
In our opinion, though, local elected officials should make sure these decisions are on the public radar in the first place. There are serious privacy concerns with these systems that must be balanced with the desire to improve public safety. That balancing act must be done publicly before contracts are signed and cameras installed. One reason Fredonia residents are so upset is that the system was installed seemingly without the public's knowledge and without the public having a chance to voice its concerns.
We are in the midst of a generational change in the way we use technology to help provide public safety. We hope the issues in Fredonia serve as a lesson to both elected officials and the public that an open, transparent discussion about the issue is the best way to proceed as we try to balance public safety and valid privacy concerns.