In the first Pendleton County Commission meeting in October, Rick Gillespie, Pendleton County Emergency Services coordinator, shared that he had received a substantial grant to pay for cameras that had the ability to read license plates of vehicles traveling on the highways.
These cameras are not made by the Flock company, nor do they have the controversial enhanced abilities that have raised concerns. Those eyed by the office of emergency management could take an image of a license plate, but do not have the advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.
Gillespie had applied for the grant prior to the public outcry over stories of abuse of Flock camera information and wanted the commission and sheriff’s department both to weigh in on whether he should accept the grant or not.
The grant paid for four cameras originally, but Gillespie noted that during the course of time the price had gone up on the devices and the grant may not cover all four.
Josh Dempsey, chief deputy, shared that the “public outcry is overblown about it.” The media has reported a number of scandals involving misuse of the advanced Flock camera capabilities, often by officers tracking vehicles of paramours. Dempsey argued that on one hand, law enforcement has a number of tools besides cameras that can be similarly abused.
Carl Hevener, commission president, suggested that those abusing such systems should face jail time in addition to fines.
“All of that needs to be tightly controlled,” he shared and got the agreement of commissioners and Gillespie. Dempsey added that West Virginia law prevents their use for traffic enforcement. Primary use would be to pursue criminals fleeing law enforcement, tracking down adults and children who had been abducted, and locating seniors suffering from dementia or similar conditions who may drive off and get lost.
The Town of Moorefield installed similar cameras on highways leading out of town. On multiple occasions, offenders escaping the Moorefield Police Department have been quickly caught by West Virginia State Police, Hardy County Sheriff’s Department, and West Virginia Department of Transportation Police. One was a set of individuals from out of state going into banks to try and access residents’ bank accounts illegally. All were caught on Corridor H quickly.
The Moorefield Police Department’s Steven Riggleman, chief, explained that their “basic” Motorola cameras “capture a still photograph of the rear of the vehicle as it passes the camera.” Riggleman explained that they have an “auditable” system that tracks exactly who conducts a search and for what on their system. He also shared that the cameras helped to capture a number of felons, including an armed robber.
He assured those in Moorefield last spring also that “the LPR system does not replace police work, investigations, witnesses, interviews, evidence collection, or probable cause. It provides another piece of information that may help establish where a particular vehicle was at a particular time.”
Dempsey added that Flock uses aggressive licensing fee regimes. They will offer large numbers of units for installation, then charge governments using them significant fees to keep them in operation. He concluded that “Flock is getting too big for their britches.”
Commissioners passed a motion to approve obtaining and installing the cameras.
