Debate underway about use of license plate recognition cameras in Marion

Andrew Carter, Marion Star
·4 min read
Marion Police Chief Jay McDonald, right, address the Marion City Council legislation, codes, and regulations committee regarding the proposed implementation of automatic license plate recognition cameras during the committee meeting on Monday, April 3, 2023. Also pictured are Lt. Christopher Marlow of the Bellefontaine Police Department and Flock Safety Senior Community Affairs Manager Laura Ann Holland. Flock Safety is the company from which the Marion County Sheriff's Office is purchasing the cameras.

Discussion and debate about the use of automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras in Marion County began this week during a Marion City Council committee meeting.

Local law enforcement leaders presented information to the Marion City Council legislation, codes, and regulations committee, at which time Marion Police Chief Jay McDonald said that the cameras would only be used in relation to "criminal investigations."

During the lengthy discussion, Councilmen Jason Schaber, 3rd Ward, and Brett Cornelius, At-large, expressed serious concerns about implementing the technology in the city. Schaber wants Marion City Council to enact legislation to govern "surveillance technology" and how the city uses it.

JASON SCHABER
JASON SCHABER

The Marion County Sheriff's Office was awarded $502,605 as its share of the 10th round of the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program in 2022. In total, the State of Ohio awarded $11.7 million in grant funds to 24 law enforcement agencies across the state last year. The Marion County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution on Nov. 10, 2022, authorizing the sheriff's office to accept the grant funding.

The grant funding awarded to the Marion County Sheriff's Office is being used to hire a crime analyst, provide domestic violence training to all sworn officers and prosecutors, and purchase new technology to assist in preventing and investigating incidents of violent crime.

The automatic license plate recognition cameras from Flock Safety, a firm in Atlanta, Georgia that provides public safety operating systems, are part of the technology the sheriff's office is acquiring with the grant funding. According to Marion Police Chief Jay McDonald, the plan is to purchase and install 34 ALPR cameras around the county. He said the sheriff's office is purchasing 20 ALPR cameras with grant funding, MARMET Drug Task Force is buying eight cameras, and the Marion Police Department wants to acquire six cameras using funds from its budget.

Marion County Sheriff Matt Bayles has already agreed to a contract with Flock Safety for the initial purchase of 28 ALPR cameras. McDonald said the police department has not entered into any agreement with Flock Safety.

The cameras that law enforcement officials want to obtain take pictures of the rear license plates of vehicles as they pass by the locations where the cameras are installed. Data obtained by the cameras can be used in criminal investigations, McDonald said. He said the cameras will not be used as a surveillance tool. That data is stored in a cloud database for 30 days before it is purged.

The Marion Police Department wants to install Flock Safety automatic license plate recognition cameras, similar to the one pictured, in the city to use as a tool in investigating crime. The Marion County Sheriff's Office was awarded an Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant in the amount of $502,605 to fund resources that will be shared with the Marion Police Department. The sheriff's office is acquiring 28 of the cameras.

McDonald told the committee he believes utilizing the cameras to assist law enforcement officers in investigating crime and will help enhance public safety. He said use of cameras isn't a new tool for the police department since it has been using cameras on its vehicles and individual officers wear body cameras when on patrol.

McDonald said law enforcement wants "to be as transparent about the process and the technology as possible." He said a "transparency portal" will be published so that the public can see the type of data being collected, how the data is being used, and who has had access to the data.

McDonald also said law enforcement is seeking feedback from Marion City Council that will be incorporated "into a policy that will allow us to use this essential technology to help keep our community safe."

Instead of just developing policy, Schaber wants Marion City Council to enact legislation that will add a new chapter to the Marion City Code governing the "use of surveillance technology." According to the sample legislation Schaber furnished to fellow city council members, the law director, the mayor, Chief McDonald, and other city officials, the new chapter of code will accomplish the following purposes:

  • Establish legally enforceable safeguards, including transparency, oversight, and accountability measures, to protect civil rights and civil liberties before surveillance technology is deployed by the city;

  • Ensure a public hearing is held before any such technology is sought, acquired, or used by the city;

  • Establish data reporting measures regarding the use and implementation of surveillance technology by the city.

Schaber wants to conduct further discussions about the proposed legislation when the legislation, codes, and regulations committee meets again on Monday, April 17. He hopes to move it out of committee and have Marion City Council vote on the proposal in the near future.

Along with McDonald and Bayles, Marion County Prosecutor Ray Grogan addressed the committee on Monday, stating his support for the technology to be implemented by the city. Lt. Christopher Marlow of the Bellefontaine Police Department told the committee how his department is using the system. Flock Safety Senior Community Affairs Manager Laura Ann Holland also addressed the committee.

Marion City Council will meet in regular session at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 10 at City Hall. To see the agenda for the committee meetings, go to the City of Marion website www.marionohio.us. Audio from Marion City Council meetings is archived on the city's YouTube channel City of Marion Ohio.

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Debate begins about use of license plate recognition cameras in Marion