u/Popular-Aerie5213

Edited to update: someone flagged the petition online alleging I was making false claims. For complete transparency, here are the links to the information provided here:
Source for murder rate being 64% higher: https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/norfolk/new-report-says-that-norfolks-number-of-homicides-has-increased-since-2019/

Source for cost of cameras and subscription, as well as source funding: https://www.govtech.com/public-safety/norfolk-va-deploys-172-license-plate-readers

Source that Flock staff have tapped into camera feeds and watched children: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/flock-safety-employees-watched-kids-151737512.html

**I cut the Meta cords two years ago- if you can share this post, graphics, and information on those platforms, as well as any other platform that will reach Norfolk, VA residents, please share!**

Curious how much the Flock Safety Inc cameras have tracked your personal vehicle(s)? Submit a FOIA request and find out!

Here's the link to the Norfolk FOIA request page: https://norfolk.justfoia.com/publicportal/home/newrequest

Here’s sample verbiage:

"Pursuant to the Virginia Public Records Act, I am requesting copies of all records, images, and data captured by Flock Safety cameras associated with my vehicle, License Plate Number: ______, Make and Model: _________, in the last thirty days prior to the date of this request.

Please include:

-All captured images of my license plate and vehicle.

-The location, date, and time of each capture.

-Any associated 'searches' or 'hits' run by law enforcement, local, state, or federal, on my license plate in the Flock system or any associated software or database such as Nova or Fusion and the name of the individual(s) requesting the information.

If this request is denied, please provide a written explanation citing the specific statutory exemption for each denial."

And if they tell you that you have to pay some sum, you can request a waiver of the fee, and technically by state law they're not supposed to be charging you for the data on your own vehicle, but I was charged $65. Push back on paying but be prepared to pay it anyway.

Also, be prepared to send a copy of your driver's license and vehicle registration to the city clerk to prove ownership of the vehicle(s).

Best of luck!

If you'd like to petition the City Council to present a referendum to allow Norfolk residents to vote on the use of Flock cameras, here's the link! openpetition.org/wylbm

Edited to update: someone flagged the petition online alleging I was making false claims. For complete transparency, here are the links to the information provided here:
Source for murder rate being 64% higher: https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/norfolk/new-report-says-that-norfolks-number-of-homicides-has-increased-since-2019/

Source for cost of cameras and subscription, as well as source funding: https://www.govtech.com/public-safety/norfolk-va-deploys-172-license-plate-readers

Source that Flock staff have tapped into camera feeds and watched children: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/flock-safety-employees-watched-kids-151737512.html

From the moment the Police Department deployed Flock cameras in Norfolk, VA without even bothering to begin writing a data policy plan or any kind of guardrails for the uniquely powerful data-sharing dashboard powering a mass surveillance web that is spreading by the day, residents have voiced their opposition.

The sheer volume of data collected is intense. I submitted a FOIA request for how many times the Flock cameras in Norfolk logged my activity, and the report showed my vehicle was logged 109 times in three days, with GPS coordinates, time-stamps, and notes on the stickers on my car.

The data was also inconsistent, marking down my grey minivan as white, black, green, blue, and grey. Some hits noted the roof rack, some did not. This type of inconsistency across a tool sets up a dangerous environment where innocent people can be wrongfully accused (and it's already happened across the United States).

The City used federal grant funds to purchase the equipment but the annual subscription fee is $2,500 per camera, bringing Norfolk's annual cost to $430,000. If grant funding doesn't come through, that falls back on the municipal budget [taxpayer funds] to cover.

Whether you like the cameras or not, I hope you'll join me in requesting the City put it to a vote and allow the residents to decide.

If you can't make it to the City Council meeting, please sign the petition!
Link to the online petition: openpetition.org/wylbm

Edited to update: someone flagged the petition online alleging I was making false claims. For complete transparency, here are the links to the information provided here:
Source for murder rate being 64% higher: https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/norfolk/new-report-says-that-norfolks-number-of-homicides-has-increased-since-2019/

Source for cost of cameras and subscription, as well as source funding: https://www.govtech.com/public-safety/norfolk-va-deploys-172-license-plate-readers

Source that Flock staff have tapped into camera feeds and watched children: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/flock-safety-employees-watched-kids-151737512.html
*******************************************

From the moment the Police Department deployed Flock cameras in Norfolk, VA without even bothering to begin writing a data policy plan or any kind of guardrails for the uniquely powerful data-sharing dashboard powering a mass surveillance web that is spreading by the day, residents have voiced their opposition.

The sheer volume of data collected is intense. I submitted a FOIA request for how many times the Flock cameras in Norfolk logged my activity, and the report showed my vehicle was logged 109 times in three days, with GPS coordinates, time-stamps, and notes on the stickers on my car.

The data was also inconsistent, marking down my grey minivan as white, black, green, blue, and grey. Some hits noted the roof rack, some did not. This type of inconsistency across a tool sets up a dangerous environment where innocent people can be wrongfully accused (and it's already happened across the United States).

The City used federal grant funds to purchase the equipment but the annual subscription fee is $2,500 per camera, bringing Norfolk's annual cost to $430,000. If grant funding doesn't come through, that falls back on the municipal budget [taxpayer funds] to cover.

Whether you like the cameras or not, I hope you'll join me in requesting the City put it to a vote and allow the residents to decide.

If you can't make it to the City Council meeting, please sign the petition!
Link to the online petition: openpetition.org/wylbm

Any confirmation of this rumor?