By: Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall
To use Flock cameras, or not to use Flock cameras, that is the dilemma facing public officials. Is it nobler to protect the citizens with modern technology, and suffer the chance of the surveillance state shattering the freedoms and liberties that many take for granted; or ensure secure national borders and bring to justice those that break our laws?
Flock camera located on Route 44 / Girdled Road in Concord Township.
Current and former Concord Township officials are very supportive of the Flock cameras. Concord Administrator Andy Rose was very proud of the Flock camera on Route 44.
Concord Township’s Trustee Carl Dorndorfer, who also is the Police Chief of Waite Hill, was extolling the virtues of Flock Cameras as the greatest police enforcement tool that he has seen in his lifetime. When I asked if Waite Hill has the Flock cameras surveillance system in their village, I was told they do not have the cameras since they did not want to pay for them. (I must admit to wondering why such an affluent neighborhood would not pay for the greatest law enforcement system to be developed in our lifetime.)
Lake County Commissioner Morgan McIntosh answered a citizen’s questions during a work session about Flock cameras. Commissioner McIntosh was formerly in law enforcement and he totally supports Flock cameras in Concord Township and in Lake County.
An AI overview of Flock Cameras revealed the major problems with Flock cameras.
Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) and surveillance cameras face widespread national backlash due to privacy violations, police abuse, and technical or accuracy errors.
Major Problems with Flock Cameras
- Mass Surveillance and Tracking: Flock cameras record every passing vehicle, cataloging make, model, color, license plate numbers, bumper stickers, and physical traits, which builds searchable movement histories of everyday citizens who are not suspected of any crime.
- Police Misuse and Stalking: Law enforcement officers across the U.S. have repeatedly abused the database to track estranged spouses, romantic partners, or individuals out of personal motives (with numerous documented cases leading to firings, arrests, or resignations, such as an officer tracking an estranged wife 717 times).
- Unauthorized Data Sharing with Federal Agencies: Local police departments can pool and share data with federal agencies (like U.S. Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement) without public notification, legal authorization, or warrants.
- Security Vulnerabilities and Leaks: Massive databases and software linked to Flock have faced security risks, including leaked search logs, exposed cameras near children’s playgrounds and gymnasiums, and vulnerabilities where physical removal of a camera granted access to stored networks.
The surveillance state is being quietly introduced to Lake County via Flock Cameras. How does communism take hold in a country? Answer: “One step at a time”.
Elected officials keep chipping away at our freedoms (Example: See the jury trial between the Rooster and “He who shall not be named”), and citizens are willing to give up some freedoms and liberty for security.
Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote—“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”
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Categories: Community Activism, Lake County - General, Uncategorized