To Flock or DeFlock?

About a decade ago a good friend returned to the United States after spending five years working in China. I asked him what it was like to live and work in China. I don’t remember much of his response, but I do remember him describing that everywhere you went there were government cameras recording you. I remember thinking that I would hate to live in a society like that. Fast forward ten years and our society is now on the brink of living in that type of milieu.

There has been a lot of discussion and controversy over the use of Flock cameras and associated Raven microphones. Though there are strong opinions on both sides, I think this is a great discussion. The cameras and the microphones are microcosms of the greater issue – what type of society do we want to be? Where is the line that we draw between public safety and privacy? What is the value of a life versing the value of community privacy? Is there a way that we can find a middle ground  – where we agree to give up some privacy in order to reduce crime?

These are not easy questions with black and white answers. Some communities jumped into the use of Flock cameras only to pull back within a few years of their use, either because of the cost or the issue of actual or possible misuse of the information available. Our community installed flock cameras about a year ago and they have aided in solving several violent crime cases thereby increasing the community safety. I do not have any knowledge of the cameras being misused. I have a lot of trust in the integrity of our Police Chief in the use of this information. Yet, I do have significant concerns. After a review of the literature both in favor of and opposed to their usage, had I been on Council I would have asked that the issue be tabled. Had my colleagues not have agreed to do so, I would have been torn. As chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Commission, I am keenly familiar with the deep trauma caused by gun violence to the family of the victim, the family of the perpetrator and the community as a whole. If these cameras meant that our city would see far fewer acts of homicide and aggravated assaults, it would be hard for me to deny their usefulness. I have learned through my work on the Gun Violence Prevention Commission that about 115 individuals are responsible for the majority of crime in Roanoke and a far fewer number are responsible for the majority of violent crime. Most often they are repeat offenders. If these cameras aided in removing those elements from our streets, there is no question our community would be safer.  Simultaneously, technology has greatly outpaced law and even within the law enforcement community this technology could be used for what I consider to be nefarious purposes – i.e. ICE using it to find law abiding undocumented immigrants.

I believe our State representatives need to tackle this issue and create appropriate law and until they do so, I do not believe we are ready for the use of this technology. I sent a copy of a

State Bill passed in Washington State addressing this question to both Delegate Rasoul and State Senator Sutterlein. I requested that they review the bill and think about how this could be adapted as legislation for Virginia. I asked that they get back to me. Sadly, it has been over a month and I have heard from neither. I am attempting to find a path where we do not “throw out the baby with the bathwater.” It will take work, time, discussion and true bipartisanship.

On a more local level, I question whether this is the way that we want to spend precious tax dollars (I believe, as was the situation in Martinsville, that a grant paid for the cameras, microphones and first year of their usage and the city is supposed to pick up the bill from there, but I have not verified this.) when we are unable to fully fund our schools. What is our priority?

In the past decade all types of cameras are appearing in public spaces. Home security cameras like Ring and Blink often capture more than the property of the owner. License plate cameras are installed in many areas of the country and are making their debut here on I81. I recently won a raffle and among the gift contents were smart sunglasses – I can now walk anywhere recording everything I see with no one knowing (don’t worry, I won’t.) The point is that at any given moment, without our knowledge or permission, it is possible that we are being recorded. True privacy may be a thing of the past. How do we adjust to this? What laws need to be rewritten or newly adopted? The controversy about Flock cameras is important both in and of itself and as an opening to the greater question about the reality of surveillance in our society.