The Harrisonburg City Council surprised a packed council chamber Tuesday evening by announcing it will remove Flock cameras in Harrisonburg. WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports.
Hundreds of Harrisonburg residents who support removing automatic license plate reader cameras – or ALPR cameras – descended on the city council meeting Tuesday night to oppose their use.
There are 31 Flock cameras throughout Harrisonburg, and the city police department uses them to “capture objective evidence without compromising individual privacy,” according to the city’s Flock transparency portal.
But the cameras are highly controversial. They have wrongly targeted innocent people, and police officers across the country have been accused of misusing the technology to stalk former girlfriends. There have also been concerns about the sharing of data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and many communities, including Charlottesville and Staunton, have ended their contracts with Flock.
Locally, Deflock Hburg, the activist group, called for those opposed to the cameras to attend the city council meeting. At the start of the meeting, Mayor Deanna Reed took the unusual step of swapping public comment – which usually comes first – with council comments, hinting at the council’s decision to ask staff to change the policy. City Council Member Monica Robinson had already thrown her support behind the Deflock Hburg campaign.
MONICA ROBINSON: This decision should have been made with robust public discussion, clear evidence that benefits outweigh the cost to privacy, civil liberties, and community trust. Now, I want to be very clear here: I fully support Deflock’s efforts to remove ALPR cameras from the city of Harrisonburg, because I believe the risks outweigh the benefits.
[attendees cheer]
She called for the policy to apply to all surveillance cameras, both now and in perpetuity.
ROBINSON: I think it’s best if we direct city staff to create a policy prohibiting the use of ALPR’s, the entering into or renewing of contracts in the city of Harrisonburg, period.
Reed said that the city had received thousands of letters and emails from concerned residents. She met with community members and reached out to other mayors in cities who made the decision to remove their cameras.
DEANNA REED: We’ve heard you. We think that this is what is best for our community. So, all I can say to you is thank you. Thank you for using your voice, thank you for all the letters, the emails, and I think that this is the best decision for our community.
Marlon Copeland, president of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham NAACP, voiced what many of those who spoke during public comment reiterated: that they could cut their comments short and thank the council for taking the steps toward removal of the cameras.
MARLON COPELAND: I don’t have to say the rest of my speech [laughter]. I really feel like this is an almost-too-good-to-be-true community. Almost a golden egg situation. We have a diverse group, we have inclusive leadership, and I’ve never been more proud to stand beside you, Mayor Reed, or you, Monica, and your endeavors. So, yeah, one more time, please give it up for the leaders we have before us.
[attendees cheer]
Karen Thomas, president of the Northeast Neighborhood Association in Harrisonburg, thanked the council for its actions but asked them to go further.
KAREN THOMAS: I’m also asking that there be an ordinance that would ban mass surveillance in Harrisonburg.
[attendees cheer]
Council has asked city staff to develop the policy enacting this change to present to the council for their vote at their July 28 meeting.
