The Estes Park Police Department will hold a community presentation on Wednesday, July 3, at 9 a.m. in the lobby of Town Hall about installing Flock Safety Cameras in Estes Park. The presentation is part of the EPPD’s regularly scheduled monthly community coffee meetings.
Flock Safety cameras are automated license plate readers that capture license plate information and vehicle details, such as make, model, and color, as well as other details like bumper stickers, decals, or whether a license plate is missing.
The information is used by law enforcement to identify potential stolen vehicles, vehicles connected to known crimes, and to provide evidence in investigations. When a vehicle that is associated with a crime is detected, the system can send an alert to law enforcement.
According to information from the company, Flock Safety cameras do not utilize facial recognition technology and do not capture personally identifiable information, such as faces or personal details. The equipment is also not designed for automatic traffic enforcement or ticketing.
However, while thousands of communities across the country have installed safety cameras, many are reassessing their use due to concerns from citizens about the use and potential hacking of the data, which is uploaded to cloud databases.
According to the Atlas of Surveillance, a database compiled by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, some 45 Colorado law enforcement agencies are using automatic license plate readers.
Balancing constitutional issues related to citizen surveillance and the need for law enforcement to provide protection to a community is a complex issue. In May, the Denver City Council unanimously voted to reject a contract proposal to use Flock cameras, citing concerns about privacy and immigration.
The presentation on Thursday morning will provide community members with an opportunity to learn more and ask questions about the camera system.