Continuing concerns over privacy risks have compelled another Dane County community to cancel its contract with Flock Safety, which provides license plate reading cameras to law enforcement agencies, and look for alternatives.
The city of Fitchburg has removed most of its Flock cameras in favor of trial systems from other vendors, according to an article in the Wisconsin State Journal.
The news comes after Stoughton became the seventh Dane County community to jettison the AI-powered cameras following a public outcry over the company’s contractual ties to immigration enforcement agencies.
In the hope that cameras from alternative vendors don’t come with the same privacy and security risks as Flock’s equipment, Fitchburg Police Captain Andrew McCarthy said the city is testing automated license plate readers from Motorola and Axon.
McCarthy said license plate reading cameras have been very helpful in solving crimes.
