Vineyard passes resolution to remove Flock safety cameras in city

VINEYARD — The Vineyard City Council this week voted unanimously to end its relationship with Flock safety cameras over privacy concerns.

Councilman Jacob Wood said he had been working on this issue for several months, trying to gather perspectives from residents and stakeholders to "find a path forward that serves the best interest of Vineyard."

Vineyard does not contract directly with Flock, but Flock cameras are located in the city through an agreement the Utah County Sheriff's Office has with Flock. The city's police department is a division of the Utah County Sheriff's Office.

Wood said there is "broad consensus" among city residents and council members on ending the agreement for Vineyard, but the resolution's intent is not to permanently prohibit license plate reader technology in the city.

"It's about a particular company whose reputation, business practices and growing controversy has caused it to lose the trust of the public," Wood said.

The proposed resolution states that Vineyard holds itself to "high ethical and operational standards, which include doing business only with reputable companies whose conduct reflects those same standards."

The message from residents, he added, is "overwhelmingly clear — they do not want Flock in Vineyard."

While Wood said license plate readers are not inherently bad and have some benefits, he added that there are broader questions of balancing public safety and the emerging technology.

"As artificial intelligence and digital surveillance technologies continue to advance, these discussions will only become more important," he said. "The technology may have a legitimate purpose. That does not mean every company providing it deserves our business."

The State Legislature is anticipated to discuss license plate reader technologies next year, and this resolution gives the council an opportunity to revisit the issue in the future if new regulations are established to "adequately protect the privacy and constitutional rights" of residents in regard to camera use, data sharing and data retention.

Wood said this resolution is a "reasonable approach" to acting on resident concerns while also not closing the door on future technologies and solutions.

Councilman Chip Price said he has gone back and forth over the issue, weighing the community benefits and privacy concerns that follow Flock cameras.

"There's got to be a way to find a middle ground here, and I don't know that Flock is giving that particular thing. But I know there's plenty of vendors out there that do a similar product (and) maybe we should look at," Price said.

Councilman Jake Holdaway emphasized that this resolution isn't "anti-law enforcement," and acknowledged its usefulness in helping stop criminals. But he thinks it is "crazy" that developers have the ability to put in place safety controls and permission systems, yet have not done so.

He raised questions about who should have access to the records and data from the cameras and what the process would look like for those seeking access.

Lt. Holden Rockwell of the Utah County Sheriff's Vineyard Division said he is in favor of tools that help him and his officers do better. He said the license plate reader cameras have been a "valuable tool" for his department and that Utah has long had laws in place for license plate readers, regulating what police can and cannot do with them.

"I do want to make sure that we understand that here in Vineyard … we only share with in-state agencies. We have safeguards that are above and beyond what the state law requires. We only retain the data for 30 days. We've always maintained that you had to have a case number and a reason to perform a search, unlike some other agencies outside of our state," he said in Tuesday's meeting.

Even though there are "no signs" the Flock cameras are being misused in Vineyard, Rockwell said it is his responsibility to notice what is happening at other agencies and self-examine to ensure those issues aren't occurring here.

Wood confirmed that this resolution "is not banning a tool; it's about a brand," and that Rockwell can start looking at other vendors of license plate readers to find one that the city is comfortable with.

The resolution was passed unanimously, directing city staff to contact the Utah County Sheriff's Office to discontinue Flock services within the city as soon as possible and not include the city in any renewal or agreement extensions. The resolution also asks that all Flock cameras located in the city be removed within 30 days of the resolution's passing.

Related topics