Under-fire Flock cameras a useful tool, Port chief says

Flock cameras, the license plate readers that have sparked concerns from residents and officials across the nation about privacy abuses and misuse by authorities, are also a valuable tool for law enforcement, Port Washington Interim Police Chief Craig Czarnecki said Monday.

But prompted by public concerns, Czarnecki told the Police and Fire Commission he is developing a policy aimed at preventing abuses of the Flock camera system. 

He added that he has done audits of the system, checking to see who is using the system and why, and hasn’t found any instances of officers abusing it.

“To this point, we never had a reason to suspect misuse,” Czarnecki said.

Flock, he noted, will alert a department if a particular license plate is searched often so departments can check out the reason.

Privacy concerns, worries about how data can be accessed and shared and the misuse of Flock camera data have prompted communities throughout Wisconsin and the nation to cut ties with Flock.

But that’s not something Czarnecki said he believes is necessary.

“I think this is a case of technology moving quicker than policy,” he said. “I have a policy, and I’m working to refine it.”

The aim, he said, is to provide safeguards and ensure anyone abusing the system can be held accountable.

Czarnecki said he has been working with other law enforcement officials from throughout Ozaukee County on the policy.

“I’m not necessarily looking for a uniform policy,” he said. “I would like it to be similar so we’re all reading from the same sheet of music.” 

Port Washington installed its first two Flock cameras in 2022 — they were paid for with funds donated by civic organizations — and today it has four of the devices.

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there,” Czarnecki said of the cameras. “They don’t track people. They don’t take video.

“They take a snapshot in time of a car passing a location. They take a picture of the back of a car. They’re not getting any biometric information. They’re not getting a picture of the driver.”

And, he said, “We don’t track people aimlessly. We’re not catching so and so messing around with his secretary.”

While some people are concerned about Flock cameras being used for surveillance, Czarnecki said other devices are more intrusive.

“This thing tracks you much more carefully, listens to you,” he said, pointing to a cell phone. “If you’ve every gone through the Illinois tollway, they collect more information than we do.”

So, too, do the proliferation of security cameras and doorbell cameras found throughout the community.

There’s no expectation of privacy when driving, Czarnecki said.

“If I’m driving down the street, anyone can see me,” he said. “Driving is a privilege, not a right. We’re not violating anyone’s privacy.”

The images taken by a Flock camera are kept for 30 days, stored in the cloud, Czarnecki said. 

Some communities have opted to shorten that timeframe to seven days, but Czarnecki said he prefers the 30-day period.

“Sometimes we don’t get reports that something occurred for a time,” he said.  

It’s up to the department to decide who to share the photos with, he added. 

“It’s our data. We decide who gets our data,” he said, adding he doesn’t believe Flock has access to it.

Typically, the department shares information with the police departments in Saukville and Grafton, as well as the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office, he said, adding that it has also allowed law enforcement agencies in southeastern Wisconsin and parts of Illinois access at times.

“Most of our searches are probably within the county,” he said. “We’re looking for something that occurred nearby.”

Czarnecki said the information provided by Flock cameras don’t necessarily solve cases but give police ”something to go on in our investigation.”

He noted that the cameras were invaluable in two recent sexual assault cases, in one case supplementing statements by the victim and witness as well as other cameras that didn’t show the license plate.

“We got the plate from Flock, but we got the suspect vehicle from the other cameras,” he said.

In the other case, a camera showed a suspect who said he weren’t in the area of the assault when he actually had been, Czarnecki said.

He said the Flock cameras have also proven useful in the case of Silver Alerts, which are issued when vulnerable adults are missing.

He recalled one such case where a man who thought he was in Fond du Lac was found in Port thanks to a Flock camera. The man’s family traveled an hour to get him.

Czarnecki said the department can create a “hot list” consisting of, for example, people who have restraining orders issued against them and have threatened others or people with outstanding warrants.

If that person’s license plate pops up on a Flock camera, officers keep an eye out to make sure they don’t go where they shouldn’t, he said.

Czarnecki said he has been checking to see who accesses the Flock camera images and found most officers in his department don’t search the system.