Four bills have been introduced in the last week, all by Republicans, to regulate Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers, or LPRs. Some lawmakers are suggesting an outright ban on their use, which some cities are doing. Ohio’s attorney general says he’s worried these responses may be overreactions.
"When used properly, Flock is one of the most valuable tools I have seen in my career," Attorney General Andy Wilson said in a statement. "In Ohio alone, it has helped solve thousands of cases, often by helping law enforcement track down violent criminals and locate missing children.
But Wilson said in an interview, "we've done a terrible job of educating the public on just exactly how these cameras work." He's concerned that local lawmakers are rushing to ban Flock cameras and other LPRs over privacy concerns without fully understanding their use in fighting crime.
"They're just getting rid of this tool. And unfortunately, what's going to happen? I guarantee you're going to see this. You're going to have a jurisdiction where the civilian leaders of public safety and law enforcement without fully understanding how everything works or fully investigating," Wilson said in an interview. "They just knee-jerk get rid of these these cameras and this tool, and then you're going to have a kid get killed, you're going to have a kid get kidnapped, you're going have some kind of tragedy in that community that could have been prevented or interdicted by these cameras. And then the pendulum's going to swing the other way, and everybody's going to be yelling at law enforcement for their failure to adequately protect the community."
There have been several reports of misuse of Flock cameras in the last year. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther cited an investigation of an officer who allegedly followed a vehicle's location more than 200 times using the city's cameras in a press conference announcing the suspension of their use.
Wilson said he’s calling for continued use of LPRs, but wants statewide legislation to address key issues, such as storage and audits of data.
"I think the legislation should include requirements of auditing and open up the ability for the jurisdictions to fully audit, to look for bad actors or misuse. I think the legislation should clearly punish at a felony level anybody who misuses this tool, and so that carries with it the potential for prison. But it also should be a lifetime ban on the ability to be a peace officer," Wilson said. "The final piece that the legislation cover is data retention. You know, we don't want this data being held forever by a jurisdiction."
Wilson said he favors data storage for no more than 30 days. One of the three House bills that have been introduced would require data be deleted after 90 days unless it's related to an investigation or criminal action. The Senate bill on Flock cameras and LPRs would require data be deleted after 10 days.
