BATAVIA, Ohio — The Batavia Police Department has suspended its use of Flock Safety license plate reader cameras in the village, effective Wednesday, village officials said.
The move halts the department’s use of the automated cameras while Village Council continues a broader review of the program, according to a post from the Village of Batavia. Officials said the decision followed weeks of resident concern over privacy, weighed against input from the police department, which the village said has seen value in the technology for public safety work.
The village said it remains bound by its contract with Flock Safety, which carries financial obligations that don’t end simply because camera use stops. Rather than suspend use on its own, village leadership said it chose to work through the privacy concerns, the police department’s input and the contract’s terms together, with involvement from law enforcement, legal counsel and Council.
The suspension also means a planned community meeting with Flock Safety representatives will not be rescheduled while the review continues. That meeting had already been postponed twice: Council first moved a planned Flock discussion from a Sept. 28 meeting to Oct. 26 to give a company representative time to attend, then pulled it from the Oct. 26 agenda entirely after the village said it was notified no representative could make the new date.
Village officials said no final decision has been made about the future of the camera program and encouraged residents to share their views at Council meetings. Updates will be posted to the village’s Facebook page, officials said.
Flock Safety’s cameras are fixed devices that photograph passing vehicles and record details such as color, make and body type. According to the company, the system can generate alerts when a passing plate matches a watch list, and the technology is used by law enforcement agencies, businesses and communities to help investigate crimes and locate stolen or missing vehicles.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Village of Batavia.