Resident Raises Privacy and Data Concerns Over Sheriff’s 'Flock' Camera Trial

Northeast Radio SD News - Watertown, SD - A 60-day trial of automated license plate reading technology has sparked debate over privacy in Codington County, with a local resident urging commissioners to reconsider the program.

During the open public comment period of Tuesday’s meeting, Watertown resident James Simons voiced significant concerns regarding the Sheriff’s Office’s testing of “Flock Safety” cameras.

Simons argued that the technology represents a more invasive form of surveillance than traditional license plate readers.

“These are license plate readers that will be in the vehicles,” Simons told the board during the meeting. “They do more than just take a simple picture of a license plate... It creates what the system calls, what Flock Safety describes themselves as a ‘vehicle fingerprint.’”

According to Simons, this “fingerprint” allows authorities to search for vehicles based on specific characteristics, such as color or the presence of bumper stickers, using AI-enhanced search capabilities. He expressed particular concern that the data is stored in a cloud database searchable by anyone with access to the broader Flock network, rather than being kept strictly under local control.

“It’s very concerning as a public, private citizen for the level of invasiveness that it introduces to the community,” Simons stated, citing the potential for data misuse.

Simons concluded by asking the board to intervene. “He asked the Board to reconsider the 60-day trial period and [requested that] before the Flock cameras would be purchased, they would hold a public hearing on this matter,” the minutes record.

While the commissioners took no formal action on Simons’ request on Tuesday, the presentation brought the ongoing trial into the public spotlight.