The Troy City Council passed a local law Thursday restricting the usage of Flock automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) by local law enforcement amid privacy concerns raised by residents at City Council meetings.
That law, Local Law 3, will require the Troy Police Department to delete ALPR camera data after 72 hours unless it's been flagged for a criminal investigation. It also only allows the Troy Police Department to share ALPR data under a court order, or with the Rensselaer County District Attorney's Office.
"We take steps in the right direction, and we continue working towards that goal. And that's what we're going to be doing," City Council President Sue Steele said before the vote. "This is a first step."
A previous version of the law proposed a 48-hour retention period. The anti-ALPR activist group DeFlock Troy criticized that amendment in a statement ahead of the vote, saying it was made "without a good reason." They also criticized the council's decision to allow Troy Police to conduct a 60-day audit of the cameras, which they called a "mistake."
The council is currently suing Mayor Carmella Mantello, a Republican, for using her emergency powers this spring to pay the city's contract with Flock Safety. The council, which became Democrat-controlled in January, had tried to stop payment to Flock.
"Until the lawsuit is settled, our hands are tied with respect to that contract," Steele said. "To end Flock now is not within our purview."
The council voted in September to restrict the mayor's ability to declare emergencies. Mantello unsuccessfully vetoed that legislation, calling it a "political power play."
