A small but passionate crowd gathered in downtown Salinas this Wednesday afternoon, voicing their opposition to a new favorite of local law enforcement and federal agencies alike: Flock Safety cameras.
The “Get the Flock Out!” protest, organized by local advocacy group Roots of Resistance and attended by about 30 community members, was held in direct response to a controversial recent proposal by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office to renew their contract with Flock Safety and expand the existing network from 63 to 103 cameras, which utilize AI-powered automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology along with other supporting mass surveillance tools. That proposal will be reviewed by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors at a public hearing on Tuesday.
“Most people here in town aren’t violent. They have no right to constantly be surveilling us, it makes no sense,” said Parker, an 18-year-old Salinas native. “We’re living in a surveillance state, and it’s unfair to the people of America…I feel very strongly about this. I feel like a lot of people don’t understand how dangerous and how bad it’s gotten.”
Not many issues can claim bipartisan support in the current political climate. But Flock foes across the nation have rallied around a laundry list of privacy and Fourth Amendment concerns – including over 50 separate incidents where law enforcement officers have been accused of using ALPR systems to stalk exes, among other misuses.
Privacy concerns aren’t the only argument against ALPR systems in law enforcement. As with other AI-powered technology, overreliance creates its own share of problems. The Institute for Justice (IJ) documented a series of incidents in which innocent motorists were pulled over, detained or arrested, some at gunpoint, after Flock cameras mistakenly pinged their vehicles. With Flock systems claiming a success rate of 93%, the IJ has stated the 27 cases it uncovered was, “most likely an undercount, perhaps by a significant margin.”
Among attendees of the Wednesday protest was a delegation of Cal State Monterey Bay students representing Sunrise Monterey Bay, the same local chapter behind the “ICE Out!” protest on campus last semester.
The Flock proposal “is extremely unpopular. It’s extremely unpopular for reasons a lot of people probably understand,” said Arran Hare, a fourth-year environmental studies major at CSUMB and Sunrise member. “As an organization, we are strongly opposed to this measure, and we decided to add our voice to the protest.”
Numerous as concerns around Flock may be, local law enforcement has defended ALPR systems as a valuable tool for investigating crimes that might otherwise go unsolved – including a recent incident involving a dead newborn and a 14-year-old girl who is still missing.
“I can say without that information we received from that camera, we may have never solved that case,” said Monterey County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Eric Bixler. “So that was very instrumental in solving this case, especially the speed in which it was done. Without it, it may have taken years or never.”
Despite their differing opinions on the issue at hand, the Sheriff’s Office and organizers of Wednesday’s protest both encourage concerned citizens to show up to Tuesday’s hearing. Yet for Colleen Ingram, local activist and Roots of Resistance member, the Flock fight is far from over.
“We’re gonna start here with the Sheriff’s contract,” said Ingram, 64. “But we trust every one of you will stand with us and take this same fight to every city council in Monterey County, until all of these cameras are taken and removed from our roads.”