New Pine Plains Herald: Town Supervisor Under Fire for Flock Surveillance Camera Approval

﻿

This story follows reporting from The New Pine Plains Herald , a nonprofit digital newsroom serving the towns of Ancram, Gallatin, Milan, Pine Plains, and Stanford in Dutchess County.

Pine Plains, New York is a small town of about 2,200 residents in Dutchess County, where local officials are coming under fire after a new investigation from The New Pine Plains Herald found that Pine Plains Supervisor Brian Walsh quietly approved 11 Flock Safety cameras without town board approval.

Flock Safety cameras are specialized Automated License Plate Readers designed for neighborhood, commercial, and law enforcement use to detect, record, and analyze vehicle data. The equipment captures license plates, vehicle make, color, and unique features (stickers, damage) and are meant to help law enforcement solve crime, often creating a ‘vehicle fingerprint.’

Thousands of law enforcement agencies use Flock Safety cameras. But across the country, residents are bringing forward new concerns that the company’s data is being shared with federal immigration agencies.

Residents in Troy, New York are pushing the City Council to remove all 26 Flock Safety readers across the city over concerns about mass surveillance.

Radio Catskill’s Kimberly Izar spoke with Patrick Grego, Editor-in-Chief at the New Pine Plains Herald, about how one Hudson Valley town is grappling with the fallout of the decision.

Image: Town Supervisor Brian Walsh reads a prepared statement at the Pine Plains Town Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 19 (Photo Credit: Patrick Grego / The New Pine Plains Herald)