JACKSON, Wyo. — At the Monday night Town Council meeting an updated agreement was unanimously approved for the Flock Safety, Inc. license plate reader cameras. The contract amendments tighten restrictions on data usage and limit how long the data can be stored before being erased.
Town Council unanimously voted to amend the contract at a January meeting earlier this year, after public comment in a prior meeting in December brought up concerns about data usage from the cameras.
Several residents joined the meeting this week for public comment regarding the issue. Every commenter expressed concerns about data privacy and mentioned some kind of distrust of the private company. Sam Strauss, Teton County resident since 2018, argued that “mass surveillance is never safe.”
Other residents agreed with Strauss and asked council to consider ending the contract completely.
The cameras — which cost $87,5000 per year and were initially installed in 2023 — have come under scrutiny in recent years, facing accusations of the data being accessed by outside agencies, such as U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Other towns have ended their contracts with Flock completely.
Discussion among councilors reflected an understanding of the public’s concerns while also highlighting the potential cost benefits and time savings that camera systems could provide for investigative purposes.
Councilor Jonathan Schechter cited the high-profile Gabby Petito case, suggesting that the investigation could have potentially been swifter with video surveillance to help solve the case. “[This issue] is chockablock with shades of gray,” Schechter ceded, agreeing that data privacy is also important and uncertain.
Further conversation amongst councilors centered around reviewing potential alternatives to Flock cameras prior to the contract expiration next summer.
View a map of camera locations reported in Jackson here.
