City Council members in Troy tabled a measure Thursday night to extend the city police department’s contract with Flock Safety. WAMC’s Samantha Simmons was at the meeting, where more than 100 residents spoke out against the license plate readers.
So many people came Thursday that leaders had to set up an overflow room inside City Hall. That’s where Emily Dorr stood. The city resident said the cameras are clearly creating tension in the community.
“There's a lot of options to help keep a community safe. This isn't a good one, in my opinion. I think it just, it violates our Frist Amendment rights,” Dorr said. “It just it, in my opinion, it just, there's so much about Troy that is about trying to make a better space, and this is in violation of that to put it as simply as possible.”
Troy has 26 ALPRs placed throughout the city. A city spokesperson said locations cannot be disclosed for “law enforcement purposes.” And Deputy Chief of Police Steve Barker told WAMC no complaints about the technology, which has been in place for more than five years, were submitted before this year.
But on Thursday night, the backlash was fierce. The license plate readers were up for debate as Troy leaders weighed whether to extend the contract with Flock Safety, a contract that costs the city $78,000 per year and ends March 31.
Police maintain the cameras are about promoting public safety. But amid public outcry about the cameras infringing on civil liberties, the all- Democratic council ultimately tabled the contract decision after a six-hour meeting.
In the fine print, though, the contract states “This agreement will automatically renew for successive renewal terms of the greater of one year or the length set forth on the Order Form (each, a “Renewal Term”) unless either Party gives the other Party notice of non-renewal at least thirty (30) days prior to the end of the then-current term,” which concerned members of the council because, they said, they weren’t provided the legislation until after that deadline had passed.
A spokesperson virtually present for Flock Safety said the company “does not discuss specifics regarding contracts.” The city said that while the contract does state it will automatically renew, the hardware company is “on standby” as the legislation makes its way through the council.
During Thursday’s meeting, Chief of Police Dan DeWolf and other city administration officials, including Republican Mayor Carmella Mantello, Deputy Mayor Seamus Donnelly, Barker, and the city’s corporation counsel presented information about the technology for more than an hour.
Officials said license plate readers provide a significant aid during incidents and emergencies. DeWolf said just this week, the cameras helped the department support a person in crisis and supported efforts in other cases, like a stabbing on the Hudson Valley Community College campus in 2022.
“We haven't had any breaches in our system,” DeWolf said. “I know that you read things in the news and so on, but we're responsible for Troy and we make sure that our data is safe and that we're doing things the right way, and that we audit our personnel so that things aren't haywire, and people are doing whatever they feel like and like, the mayor said there's a twostep authentication in order to get into the system, and it's just been it’s paramount for us to have to solve crimes. I mean, it's a market difference before we had LPRs.”
Regarding privacy concerns, Deputy Police Chief Steve Barker said the city has full ownership of footage, which is automatically deleted after 30 days. He said the cameras are license plate readers only and only detect license plate numbers and vehicle make, model, and color.
Barker said the city has used some form of license plate readers for more than 17 years.
On Thursday, Mayor Mantello called the movement against the technology an effort to defund the police department.
“Whether we call it that or not, it is taking tools away from our police officers and our police department,” Mantello said.
Democratic Council Member Noreen McKee, of District 4, told WAMC that it’s possible she would be comfortable with a different system of license plate readers.
“Communities are very, very concerned. And the biggest concern that I can determine is the protection of privacy. It's a huge concern,” McKee said. “We're all concerned about it. On the other hand, I don't have a problem with the with cameras, you know, if my car was stolen, I'd want to, I'd want to definitely call the police and say, check those cameras, you know. But we have to strike some kind of a balance between protecting our right to privacy and giving the police the tools that they need to do their job.”
The debate over Flock cameras in Troy comes as many communities are having similar conversations.
Late last year, the town of Poestenkill, also in Rensselaer County, and Stewart’s Shops turned down the chance to host the cameras for the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Department. The cameras would have been placed on town property and at Stewart’s locations throughout the county. Both the town and Stewart’s opted against hosting the cameras in the face of resident resistance.
