By Robert Medley
Managing Editor
Surveillance cameras will soon be placed around Piedmont to start taking photographs of license plates for police investigations.
The traffic-monitoring cameras that are already used by Oklahoma City, Yukon and also Union City police, were approved at a Monday, Dec. 18, Piedmont City Council member.
Only Councilman Jonathan Hisey voted against the cameras.
The cameras had been requested for use in Piedmont. Police Chief Shayne Clark has requested a $17,750 a year contract with Flock Safety to lease and install five surveillance cameras at locations in Piedmont city limits.
City council members decided in November, at the request of Hisey, to hold off on any such use of the cameras by police officers.
“I have some legitimate concerns about who this information is shared with, who can access it and the lack of any laws that regulate this type of system and the information it collects,” city councilman Jonathan Hisey said at the November meeting.
But Monday, Dec. 18, council members voted to trust the police department and that the cameras will not be misused.
The contract will be reviewed annually.
Mayor Kurt Mayabb made the motion to approve the contract with Flock Safety for the cameras. Hisey objected first.
“I don’t think we should approve this,” Hisey said at the meeting Monday, Dec. 18.
“I don’t think we should take pictures of innocent people and put them on secret databases. If we don’t approve of this stuff on the federal level then why should we approve it here?” Hisey asked council members. And you can’t tell me that federal guys are not going to be tapping into this stuff too.”
Hisey said there is about one burglary a month in Piedmont.
“We have an extremely low crime rate. There are no laws governing the use of this,” Hisey said. Hisey said the Flock Safety system infringes on liberties.
“The purpose of government is to secure the liberty of the people, not to make everybody safe. Everybody wants perfect safety and I understand that but you cannot try to achieve perfect safety without taking away liberties of other individuals. We do not need this system,” Hisey said.
Council members Rob Jones, Byron Schlomach, Ryan Aller, Ron Cardwell voted to approve the contract with Flock for the cameras. Hisey cast the lone no vote.
Schlomach said, “I think there are a lot of tools at the government level that can be abused.” “In a year we get to evaluate again. That is where I stand on it and why I am going to vote for it.”
Cardwell said, “I trust our police chief to make sure this won’t be used improperly.”
The contract will be funded through money collected by the municipal court.
Jim Fink, a representative of Flock Safety, told council members in November that the cameras are used for Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts and other public safety alerts.
Oklahoma City has 90 cameras in use including one on Northwest Expressway near Piedmont, Clark said.
The locations of the cameras in Piedmont have not been announced.
Hisey, who represents Ward 4 in Piedmont, said there have been cases in other cities where mistakes with license plate readers have led to unwarranted traffic stops and unlawful detainments.
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