Darien Warned About Police's Flock Surveillance Cameras

DARIEN, IL – Darien residents criticized the police department's leasing of cameras from a company that is alleged to have misused data.

For weeks, opponents had urged residents to attend Monday's City Council meeting to express their opposition to license plate-reading cameras from Atlanta-based Flock Safety.

Such objections are being heard in other suburbs, including Elmhurst and Burr Ridge. One of the concerns is ICE's access.

Darien officials stood by the cameras. They said they are being used for law enforcement purposes. So far, they have been used to recover about 15 stolen cars, find a missing person and help a suicidal person, according to the city.

Further, officials promised they would not use the cameras to invade people's privacy. They said the data is not shared with ICE.

Resident Jeff Surgeon said the issue is not whether public safety matters.

"It does," he told the council. "The issue is whether the system is truly narrow, controlled and protected against abuse."

Sturgeon and others cited instances of alleged abuse with Flock's systems in Mountain View, California; Milwaukee; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Chicago suburbs such as Forest Park, Evanston and Oak Park.

They also cited the Illinois secretary of state's office's Flock audit, which alleged the company misused data.

If Darien continues to use Flock cameras, Sturgeon said, it should keep the data for seven days (Darien's cap is 30 days), limit the use to felony investigations, bar outside sharing without warrants and require annual public reporting on use.

'A loophole at best'

Another resident, Richard Finlay, said Flock continues to violate the trust of communities.

"Unfortunately, we're put into a situation where tens of thousands of people are being passively surveilled in the hopes that hypothetically one or two people might find themselves being made whole," he said. "I appreciate the validity of the desire for them. I really can."

But he said Darien's cameras are part of a nationwide Flock network that is building profiles on Americans based on where they're driving.

That goes against liberties in this country, he said.

"That's what makes this country uniquely fantastic... We have a reasonable expectation of privacy against our government," Finlay said. "Flock is a loophole at best."

Darien has 10 Flock cameras and is looking to add six. The cameras are at Darien's key entry and exit points, the city said.

'An investigative tool'

During the discussion, a woman downplayed that the cameras were used to find a missing person.

That prompted the city's treasurer, Michael Coren, to ask, "If that was your missing person, wouldn't you want to make sure they got found?"

The woman responded, "Nobody wants anything bad to happen in life, but it happens."

Mayor Joseph Marchese urged residents to have confidence in the Darien police. He said the department is correctly using the camera data.

Police Chief Greg Thomas said he understood that residents distrusted Flock, not local police.

He said the department follows the Constitution and would adapt as new information comes in about Flock, which he acknowledged was under scrutiny.

In a recent statement, the city said the cameras are used to capture license plate information. That information is compared to databases for stolen cars, wanted persons, missing persons and active criminal investigations, the post said.

"The technology serves as an investigative tool, while law enforcement officers remain responsible for evaluating the information and determining the appropriate response," the city said.

Flock has denied allegations that it has directed data to ICE and other agencies.

Recently, a Flock executive told Burr Ridge officials that his company could have done a better job explaining the camera system's settings to towns such as Evanston.