Is the town of Orange Park adding flock cameras?

ORANGE PARK — The decision of whether or not to use flock cameras in the town of Orange Park seems to be a debate.

But following its Dec. 2 council meeting, the town decided to hold off on purchasing the cameras until further investigation.

Flock cameras are an AI-surveillance system made by Flock Safety that uses automatic license plates, make, model and colors of a car to store data in a centralized, searchable database. It can be accessed by law enforcement to solve crimes, track stolen vehicles and even find missing people in real time.

The devices are solar-powered and LTE-connected, allowing for data to be found within hours, according to Flock Safety. The Orange Park Police Department, along with the town’s Public Works Department, proposed using the $40,000 license plate reader system.

During the meeting, residents spoke out against the cameras, citing privacy and data-sharing concerns. Councilman Glenn Taylor said he agrees with residents and is not in favor of the cameras.

“I don’t like that kind of accumulation of data by the government,” he said. 

The council voted 5-0 to move the decision to the Jan. 6 meeting, so the town could further review the legal aspects of the cameras. So, there is no purchase as of now.

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