Pomfret councilman wants county to act on cameras
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A town official wants to see local officials give approval before any Flock cameras are installed.
Pomfret Councilman Mike Lee attended the September Chautauqua County Legislature Public Safety Committee meeting.
In August, Lee was in attendance at the full legislature meeting where he spoke out against the Flock cameras and License Plate Readers that have been installed in the Dunkirk/Fredonia area.
There are seven License Plate Readers in Fredonia and Pomfret, one Flock Camera on village hall property and one more in the city of Dunkirk on public property.
Lee said since visiting the legislature in August, he has reviewed the contracts with Flock.
"Some of my biggest concerns about the system is about data privacy. I've had the chance to review the county contract with Flock Safety and there are no protections at all for any individual personally identifiable information that's captured with those systems," he said.
In response, Lee requested the Public Safety Committee to introduce a resolution "directing that the county executive not allow these cameras in any part of Chautauqua County without the approval of any boards that have oversight over those communities."
He said that would include town boards, village boards and city councils. "This would allow for public discussion. This would allow for feedback and that would allow for transparency," he said.
Lee did acknowledge that District Attorney Jason Schmidt has proposed creating a countywide monitoring group to meet quarterly to ensure there are no public abuses taking place.
But that proposal for Lee isn't enough.
"My bigger concern is what is happening with Flock themselves with that data. And there's no way that we locally can control what happens with that data," he said.
No resolutions were proposed at the committee meeting.
SCHMIDT SPEAKS OUT
Schmidt also appeared at the Public Safety Committee meeting and discussed the Flock camera controversy.
Schmidt defended the Flock cameras, saying that in their contract with the company, only four members of the District Attorney's Office can access the data. At the same time, their data is set up in a way that another police agency cannot access the data recorded by Flock Cameras in Chautauqua County without permission from his office.
He also said they have solved multiple crimes using the Flock cameras.
Schmidt noted that his office helped State Police investigate a fatal vehicle crash on Sept. 9 on I-90. Through the county's assistance, troopers were able to make an arrest.
"I think that we can find the appropriate path forward but it shouldn't be, you know, that we kill the system. I think we have to tread carefully and see how the next six months take us and whether we see any signs of abuse," he said.
Schmidt said they signed a one-year contract with Flock and said they will evaluate it carefully when the contract is up.
Schmidt noted most of the concern arose when people saw a Flock camera near the Fredonia Village Hall, which also is the home of the 1891 Fredonia Opera House. He said he is willing to consider relocating that specific camera if desired.
Schmidt did note that both Jamestown and Dunkirk police departments have their own camera monitoring systems. He chose to go with Flock Safety in Fredonia because it's much cheaper than other camera systems.
Schmidt also insists that Flock doesn't share data without permission.
"They make it clear that all the data that's collected is owned by the customer," he said.
Committee members appeared satisfied with Schmidt's comments and thanked him for attending the meeting.