Are Flock cameras working? Lexington police say cameras have found 82 stolen vehicles

Less than six months into a one-year pilot project, Lexington Police officials told the council that Flock Safety Cameras have helped the department find missing persons, locate dozens of stolen cars and apprehend suspects wanted for murder.

The city started using the Flock Safety Cameras, which take still photos of license plates, this spring as part of a pilot project. The license plate numbers are then run through various databases -- including missing person and reported stolen car databases.

The cameras are not used as traffic cameras and aren’t used to go after speeders or nab traffic violators, police have said.

Over the past six months, Lexington police said the cameras have been used to find 11 reported missing persons, 82 stolen vehicles and have helped in the investigation of 38 criminal cases. It has also allowed police to seize 30 guns, said Lexington Police Commander Matthew Greathouse.

The first cameras were installed in March. All 25 cameras were fully operational the first week of August.

“I personally believe this is a great asset to our community,” Greathouse said Tuesday during a Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council Public Safety and Planning Committee meeting.

Greathouse said they have used the cameras to locate a juvenile who was wanted in connection with a shooting in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The police were able to locate a suspect in a triple murder in Blue Ash, Ohio, at a Lexington hotel. That person took his own life before being arrested, Greathouse said.

Investigators were able to find a suspect in a murder case from Detroit, Mich., in Lexington based on information generated from the cameras, he said.

The suspect was found with the gun that was allegedly used in the murder, Greathouse said.

The cameras provided collaborating information on seven of the city’s 38 homicides.

Still, the cameras have not been without controversy and questions.

Citing safety, Lexington police have not released the location of the cameras. Many groups, including the Kentucky American Civil Liberties Union, have expressed concern the cameras will be placed in minority areas. Lexington police have only said the cameras are placed throughout the city and the location of the cameras was placed in high-crime areas and not concentrated in minority neighborhoods. There have also been multiple concerns about how that data is shared.

An audit was recently completed and found police have used the tool properly, said Greathouse.

Councilman James Brown asked if the audit also looked at whether the information generated from the cameras disproportionately impacted minority populations.

Greathouse said the audit only looks at who has accessed the information and whether the information was used properly.

Brown said the location of the cameras could be shared after the pilot was completed, likely in August. If the city wants to continue the program and signs a new agreement with Flock, it can release the locations of the cameras quarterly.

Brown said he would also ask the city’s Racial Justice and Equality Commission to review the department’s policies.

“I am supportive of the program,” Brown said. “Let’s continue to make sure the policy holds up and to examine the way this tool is being used.”

Some of the cameras have already been defaced or stolen, according to information provided to the council. That’s why police are reluctant to give locations of the cameras, Greathouse said.

The department received the cameras from Flock Safety at no cost as part of a pilot project with the National Police Foundation. After a year, the foundation will generate a report to determine the camera’s effectiveness, police have said.

The city will have to get a new agreement with Flock Safety after the one-year pilot is completed.

Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton has also included money in the current-year budget for additional Flock cameras if the pilot program is successful.

“I think this allows our police to have an additional tool in our tool chest,” said Councilwoman Whitney Elliott Baxter.

Councilman Preston Worley agreed.

“I think the facts speak for themselves,” Worley said. Some of the missing people that have been located were kids, Worley pointed out.