RACINE, Wis. — Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling has ordered the immediate removal of every Flock license plate reader camera operated by the Racine County Sheriff’s Office after learning the company appears to be collecting, retaining and monetizing information far beyond what the agency believed it had agreed to. The decision comes less than two months after a Walworth County judge ordered Racine County law enforcement agencies to turn over unredacted investigative records in a separate Kenosha County Eye John Doe proceeding involving allegations that Racine County Sheriff’s Deputy Emil Ortiz improperly used the Flock system.
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
Schmaling announced Friday that his office has obtained legal counsel and is taking steps to terminate its agreement with Flock after discovering what he described as a serious breach of the public’s trust. The Sheriff’s Office entered into its agreement believing information collected by its cameras would be retained for 30 days and used for legitimate public-safety and crime-solving purposes. RCSO now says Flock appears to be continuously collecting information about members of the public, monetizing certain data through sales to third parties and retaining secondary information for five years.
“This is not what we agreed to, and it is not what the public was led to believe,” Schmaling said. “The Sheriff’s Office will not participate in a system that appears to use public safety as a justification for mass surveillance and the collection and monetization of information about innocent people.”
Schmaling went further, accusing Flock of potentially using public safety as a pretext to create a much larger surveillance and data-collection operation.
“If Flock used public safety as a bait-and-switch to build a massive surveillance and data-collection system, they have violated the public’s trust. We will not tolerate it,” Schmaling said.
Flock Already At Center Of Racine County Controversy
The decision comes while the use of Flock technology by Racine County law enforcement is already under scrutiny in a separate matter.
In July, Walworth County Circuit Court Judge Kristine E. Drettwan ordered two law enforcement agencies to provide complete, unredacted investigative records connected to allegations that Racine County Sheriff’s Deputy Emil Ortiz improperly used Flock. The order came as part of a John Doe petition filed by Kenosha County Eye after Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson declined to charge Ortiz with misconduct in office.
That proceeding concerns alleged misuse of the law-enforcement surveillance system by an individual user, while Schmaling’s Friday announcement raises a separate and potentially much broader issue: what Flock itself does with information collected through cameras deployed by law enforcement agencies.
Schmaling’s announcement does not indicate that the Ortiz investigation was the reason for terminating the county’s agreement with Flock. Rather, the Sheriff’s Office says the immediate removal was prompted by its discovery that Flock appears to retain and monetize secondary information beyond the 30-day retention period the agency understood would apply.
Sheriff Says ALPR Technology Will Remain
Schmaling emphasized that he is not abandoning Automatic License Plate Reader technology itself. Instead, the Sheriff’s Office plans to look for another vendor.
“ALPR technology is a powerful investigative tool, but it must be accompanied by appropriate supervision, accountability, transparency, and clearly defined safeguards,” the release states.
RCSO cited several major investigations in which license plate readers helped deputies. In one homicide investigation, deputies used ALPR technology to locate and arrest a fleeing homicide suspect about 20 minutes after a shooting. In another case, investigators used the technology to identify a driver accused of pointing a firearm at juveniles in a high school parking lot while school was in session.
The Sheriff’s Office also said ALPR technology helped investigators identify and dismantle a nationwide identity-theft crew.
“We are not abandoning a technology that can help us protect the public,” Schmaling said. “We are abandoning a vendor that appears to have violated the trust placed in it. We will continue to use ALPR technology responsibly, with appropriate safeguards and accountability.”
Schmaling concluded with a pointed statement: “The technology did not fail the public. Flock failed the public.”
County Executive Supports Decision
Racine County Executive Ralph Malecki also backed Schmaling’s decision to end the relationship with Flock.
“I completely support Sheriff Schmaling’s decision to end the County’s relationship with Flock and to explore other vendors to provide this important law enforcement technology, which will be closely monitored,” Malecki said.
The Sheriff’s Office release was issued by Public Information Officer Lt. Michael J. Luell.
