(Cell Phone Photos by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
Can you tell from the photo above which camera is Flock and which camera is Axon? Well… this is a tough one. One has a garbage bag covering the camera. The other one doesn’t. Other than that — good luck. These two cameras are on 56th Street, just east of Green Bay Road in Kenosha. Today, I pulled over to take a photo of them side by side, and while I was standing there, a man driving past rolled down his window and yelled, “Tear it down!” I laughed… but his unsolicited commentary probably says something about how recognizable these cameras have become.
(Cell Phone Photos by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
One is Flock. The other is Axon. Different logo. Different company. Same basic technology. They’re Automatic License Plate Readers, or ALPRs, which photograph license plates and vehicles traveling on public roads and create searchable information that law enforcement can use in investigations. Flock has become a household name around here, but Flock is just the brand — and replacing Flock with Axon doesn’t mean Kenosha is getting rid of ALPR surveillance.
Kenosha Is Doubling Down
In fact, the City of Kenosha is doing the opposite. Mayor David Bogdala and the Kenosha City Council recently approved spending hundreds of thousands of dollars over the coming years on Axon license-plate-reader cameras as part of the city’s new Axon agreement. Kenosha isn’t ripping out Flock cameras and returning our streets to the way they were before ALPRs. It’s ripping out one company’s cameras and replacing them with another company’s cameras.
That’s an important distinction because “Kenosha Police ending Flock” sounds like the city is backing away from this technology. It isn’t. The city has made a substantial new financial commitment to continue it. Flock out. Axon in. The cameras stay. The license plates keep getting photographed. The searchable records remain part of modern policing. Meet the new boss… same as the old boss.
These Cameras Solve Crime — And I Used To Support Them
For a long time, I supported ALPR cameras because they solve a hell of a lot of crime — and nobody can honestly deny that. They locate stolen vehicles, help find wanted suspects and can identify vehicles involved in serious crimes incredibly quickly. Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling’s office recently cited cases in which ALPR technology helped deputies locate a homicide suspect approximately 20 minutes after a shooting, identify a driver accused of pointing a gun at juveniles and dismantle a nationwide identity-theft operation.
But I’ve changed my mind — not because the cameras don’t work, but because we’ve seen what can happen when people entrusted with these incredibly powerful databases allegedly misuse them. Deputy Frank McGrath and Deputy Emil Ortiz changed the way I look at this technology. So did the responses when alleged misuse was discovered. When law enforcement can potentially determine where someone’s vehicle has been and that power is abused, “trust us” isn’t enough.
There Is A Way I’d Support Them Again
I would support ALPR technology again if lawmakers actually put teeth behind the safeguards. Change state law. Change federal law if necessary. Make intentional misuse of these systems a clearly defined crime with serious consequences, and take away the ability of prosecutors or sheriffs to simply decide that nothing meaningful should happen when the evidence establishes an intentional misuse.
I don’t want accountability for this kind of surveillance power depending on the discretion of Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson or Kenosha County Sheriff David Zoerner — or, frankly, whoever holds those offices 20 years from now. If government is going to possess this extraordinary ability to track vehicles belonging to innocent people, the law should mandate consequences when a government employee intentionally abuses that ability. That’s the deal I could support: keep the technology that solves crimes, but make the safeguards just as powerful as the technology.
KPD Hasn’t Been Accused Of Misusing It
There is also an important distinction involving Kenosha Police. Kenosha County Eye is aware of no KPD officer accused of misusing Flock or a similar database, and Police Chief Patrick Patton has told us his department has not identified misuse by its officers. His approach to these concerns has also been far more serious than some of what we’ve witnessed elsewhere.
But that’s exactly why the safeguards need to be laws rather than promises. Patton won’t be chief forever. Today’s officers won’t be there forever. Today’s district attorneys and sheriffs won’t be there forever. Surveillance infrastructure can remain in place for decades, and the protections need to survive the people currently running the agencies.
Racine’s Warning Shouldn’t Be Ignored
This week, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling ordered the immediate removal of his department’s Flock cameras after saying his office learned Flock appeared to be collecting and retaining information beyond what the Sheriff’s Office understood or agreed to. Racine County says it believed information would be retained for 30 days, but subsequently learned Flock appeared to be collecting additional information, monetizing certain data through third parties and retaining secondary information for five years.
Schmaling called the situation potential “mass surveillance” and said Flock may have used public safety as a “bait-and-switch” to build a massive surveillance and data-collection system. Importantly, Schmaling isn’t abandoning ALPR technology either. His office plans to explore other vendors, saying the technology remains valuable when paired with proper accountability and safeguards. His conclusion was simple: “The technology did not fail the public. Flock failed the public.”
Maybe Axon will be better. Maybe Kenosha will impose tighter controls. I hope both are true. But let’s not pretend Kenosha just got rid of Big Brother because the word “Flock” disappeared from the camera.
Look again at the photo from 56th Street. One camera says Flock. One says Axon. One has a garbage bag over it. Different company… different logo… same basic surveillance technology.
Kenosha didn’t get rid of it.
Kenosha spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep it.
Meet the new boss… same as the old boss.
One Response
I agree. Keep the cameras; they solve crimes. BUT we must have clear state or federal laws clearly defining misuse and not leave it to someone’s discretion.