In today's newscast:
Monterey Supervisors decide to move away from Flock
Monterey County’s Flock cameras will be gone by December. Before the Board of Supervisors made that decision Tuesday night, District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni advocated for the cameras.
"The technology makes our county safer," said Pacioni, "and with the right oversight, it does so without compromising the rights that we're all here to protect."
But the public and supervisors raised several concerns, including that the proposed agreement would last a decade.
District 4 Supervisor Wendy Root Askew echoed the majority of public speakers worried about privacy and misuse of data.
" We have a lot of needs in this county to truly provide for the public health and safety and well being of our residents," said Root-Askew. "And, given everything I've heard, this just isn't at the top of that list."
In a neighboring county, Watsonville made a different choice
The Watsonville City Council has decided to keep Flock cameras around, though they opted for some new constraints.
In a five to two vote Tuesday, the city council decided to slash its Flock camera fleet almost in half, retain data for a week instead of a month and cut off all data sharing.
Watsonville Chief of Police Brian Shab says the license plate readers have helped solve crimes and without the tool, " there will be crimes that go unsolved—serious violent crimes that will go unsolved."
Councilmember Vanessa Quiroz-Carter joined the dozens of public speakers who raised concerns about mass surveillance, data breaches and possible federal government abuses.
"For me, the dangers of this tool far outweigh anything that we could possibly save," said Quiroz-Carter.
The council directed staff to collect public feedback at town halls and in surveys. Results will be shared before the Flock contract is due for renewal next September, along with options going forward that include possibly ending the partnership.
