Codington County Commission Hears Concerns Over Flock Safety License Plate Readers, Data Privacy in Watertown
- Steve Jurrens
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - Rising concerns over surveillance technology and ongoing civic petition efforts took center stage during the open public comment period at Tuesday’s Codington County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Surveillance, Data Privacy, and Proposed Town Hall
Local resident James Simmons addressed the board regarding the county’s use of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR), specifically systems operated by Flock Safety. Simmons highlighted recent state and national developments surrounding automated license plate technology, pointing to statements from both state law enforcement leadership and corporate executives.
“The state’s attorney general came out acknowledging that these systems are susceptible for the potential of misuse and abuse,” Simmons noted during his presentation, adding that state officials plan to implement statewide policies to curb potential misapplication. “And then... a public announcement from the CEO of Flock [issued] a public apology saying, ‘I’m sorry that our system is being misused and abused. We’re going to try to curtail that and put in some setting changes.’”
Simmons argued that proposed policy adjustments fail to address the underlying data security issue. He emphasized that vehicle location data collected locally is transferred to third-party servers outside South Dakota.
“The problem as I see it is not Sheriff Brad misusing the system... The problem is these systems collect a large amount of data,” Simmons said. “That data gets shipped off to the Flock headquarters, which is in Atlanta, Georgia. They have full possession of that data. It’s in their servers. The real issue is what is Flock doing with the data and who are they sharing the data with?”
Referencing a new initiative by the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to expand statewide ALPR integration, Simmons questioned whether Codington County intends to participate. He noted that the City of Aberdeen recently declined to enroll in the statewide system following public pushback.
Simmons stated he requested a public town hall event through the Watertown City Council and City Manager when he spoke at Monday night’s City Council meeting to facilitate dialogue between citizens, law enforcement, and local officials. He extended a formal invitation to the Codington County Commission and Sheriff Brad Howell to participate if the event is finalized.
Commission Chairman Troy VanDusen thanked Simmons for bringing the topic before the board.
“I know it’s a big concern of his and there’s been a lot of press on this recently,” VanDusen said. “We welcome the transparency as well.”
Commission Withholds Comment on Pending Ordinance Petition
During the commission comment period, Commissioner VanDusen briefly addressed online public discussions regarding a recently passed county ordinance. While public commentary on social media has increased, he elected to withhold formal statements to avoid interfering with an active citizen petition drive.
“I was going to make just a couple of comments on some things that are on Facebook recently about the action that we took with reference to the recent ordinance that we passed,” Chairman VanDusen noted. “But I think I’m going to curb those right now because I don’t think the timing is right. I know that there’s a petition going around right now and I don’t want to do anything that could alter anything as far as the views of this commission.”
He indicated further comment would be reserved until after the petition process concludes.
