Marty Gordon
Christiansburg leaders have heard concerns from the public and have voted to shut down use of Flock cameras in the town limits.
This past week, council voted 6-0 to remove them. The decision comes after almost an hour of listening to citizen concerns. Most of the speakers expressed opinions against their use.
Police Chief Chris Ramsey recently told council during a work session a cable was cut on one of the town’s cameras. He felt it was a direct impact of ongoing national tensions surrounding the issue.
“I do regret or lament that social media, I think, has driven people to feel so inflamed about this topic that they’re resorting to that kind of thing,” he said.
Ramsey said the topic is turning into a very heated political issue that has resulted in some bad actions like the vandalism to the Christiansburg camera.
Christiansburg currently has six Flock cameras that have been in operation since 2024. Their contract is for two years and was just renewed in June.
“There are going to be strong feelings on both sides of this issue because it does deal with civil liberties and the perception of a surveillance state, police state, free state — all of those different issues kind of coming together,” Ramsey said.
The chief says there are plenty of misconceptions floating around the public.
The cameras in Christiansburg, according to Ramsey, capture the back of the car, storing the license plate photo for 21 days.
Most of last week’s speakers expressed concern about what else the camera shows and how it might be used.
Again, the word, “Flock”, is a specific company (Flock Safety) which produces these types of cameras and technology, but the name has stuck when the discussions take place.
Flock cameras are automated license plate readers and use AI-enabled surveillance systems with an estimated 120,000 being used not only by police departments but also private businesses nationwide.
Communities across the country have paused or canceled the Flock usage in the midst of criticism over Fourth Amendment protection.
The tracking records the vehicle’s characteristics including bumper stickers, roof racks and dents on the car, but does not grab any type of facial recognition.
Police can use the technology to locate stolen vehicles, track fugitives and solve local crimes where the car might have been identified.
Privacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union note that over 99 percent of scanned cars have no link to a crime, yet their location histories are stored for a time in searchable databases.
Tuesday night, Ramsey pointed out the cameras were an effective tool. He said there are more safeguards on the cameras and their data than there are on a lot of other things police have access to and trust officers with.
Several members of council were quick to say the change had nothing to do with not trusting the police department.
Councilman Sam Bishop, who is a former police officer, said there had been no issues with the CPD and its usage. But he said he hated to see anything that took shots at the department’s reputation.
Councilwoman Johana Hicks said the public does not trust the data collection and the system.
“This has nothing to do with our police,” she said.
