HARTLAND, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Town of Hartland has voted to remove all Flock Cameras from the town, becoming the second Niagara County municipality to order the removal of the controversial technology.
"We love our sheriff’s office, but we feel in our town that there’s a slippery slope going on," Hartland Supervisor Margaret Zaepfel said. "They are surveilling people that have not committed a crime."
Flock safety cameras watch traffic 24 hours a day, recording the license plate numbers and other characteristics of every passing vehicle.
The technology was originally installed by the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office to combat crime, such as tracking suspects or missing people.
"We understand that it’s a tool the sheriff’s office can use, but we also realize that when we give up our liberties for safety, sometimes it gets taken advantage of," Zaepfel said.
Flock has received criticism as a breach of privacy.
According to the Washington Post, at least 50 law enforcement officers nationwide were charged with or accused of misusing the cameras and similar systems. However, none of those instances were in Niagara County.
Hartland has three of the cameras at two locations, the intersections of Ridge and Quaker Roads and Ridge and Stone Roads. Zaepfel said they were mistakenly placed there after the town board had voted against their installation in the Spring.
"It’s a new tool, and sometimes new tools need scrutinized to make sure that they are safe for the public," Zaepfel said.
Hartland is now the second municipality in the county to ban the cameras. Last month, North Tonawanda came to the same conclusion.
"It’s not necessarily saying that we don’t need the tool, but we need to have a contract, parameters in place. That’s number one," North Tonawanda Mayor Austin Tylec said in August. "We work for the people here, and we understand their concerns. We agree that there are a lot of questions with the equipment."
WATCH: ‘New tools need scrutinized’: Town of Hartland orders removal of Flock Cameras
"The Sheriff’s Office collaborates with local governments on a host of public safety issues. Whether a town or city chooses to partner with my office on any particular program, that is their decision to make," Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti said in a statement.
Supervisor Zaepfel said that she is actively working with Filicetti to remove the cameras in the town as soon as possible.
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