The Springfield Police Department has announced updates to its Flock transparency portal. It’s also revised department guidelines that govern how the department uses Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology and has made changes in how it shares that data with other agencies. Police Chief Paul Williams said that’s in response to the community’s concerns about transparency, accountability and privacy.
It's a hot button issue. Multiple people have spoken before Springfield City Council in recent months regarding Flock cameras and their concerns about privacy. In September, a crowd gathered at a city council meeting for a public hearing on a resolution calling for a review of ALPR technology by police, erupted in anger after the measure was sent to committee before anyone could speak.
According to Williams, the technology has been used to reduce crime, speed up investigations and keep the community safe.
He said SPD’s policy regarding ALPR technology use hadn’t been updated since 2013. It makes clear what users can and cannot do.
"We hear the community's concerns about the privacy of the data, and we take these concerns very seriously," said Williams. "Our ALPR data is stored securely in Amazon Web Services Gov Cloud, and it's encrypted with strict access controls and multi-factor authentication. The data belongs to the Springfield Police Department, not to a vendor. As detailed in our contracts and under our policies, vendors may not use it, sell it or analyze it. We retain ALPR data for 30 days, and it's deleted automatically unless it's tagged as part of an active investigation."
According to Williams, they only share data with outside law enforcement agencies, and they’ve decided only to share with other agencies in Missouri and in adjacent states that reciprocate.
He said only trained and authorized SPD personnel can search ALPR data, and there are restrictions on what they can do.
"Our policy prohibits using ALPR technology to track individuals at protests, religious services, political activities, clinics or any other constitutionally protected activity. Searches cannot be based on race, ethnicity, religion, political activity or any other protected characteristic," he said. "These protections are built into our policy to safeguard your civil liberties."
And he said they do an audit every month to make sure the technology is being used correctly. He said they’ve never had a case of misuse and if they ever found one there would be swift disciplinary action and possible criminal charges.
Anyone can find out where Flock cameras are located on the SPD Flock transparency portal. Williams said those locations were chosen based on traffic volume and proximity to hot spot areas.
According to Williams, ALPR technology only captures license plate information and distinguishing features of vehicles – it doesn’t capture faces, audio or speed.
He invites anyone with concerns to speak at city council meetings, email the department or attend a Coffee with the Chief event.
But local resident Vicke Kepling is still opposed to Flock cameras. She said in a statement that she watched the press conference online, and while she said, "Police Chief Paul Williams did a nice job of clarifying updates to the City’s Flock webpage," she still has concerns. Those include "1.) the increase of cameras locally; 2) the issues occurring with Flock cameras across the nation; and 3) the removal of Flock cameras by Greene County."
Kepling said she feels "violated" by the cameras, and she said she feels that "even if our police do everything perfectly, crimes can still be committed with our cameras. Stalking is a serious subject for many, especially women."
She believes the issue should be put to a vote.
