About 25 people gathered outside Hamilton City Hall Wednesday evening to protest the city's use of Flock Safety cameras, raising concerns about privacy and how law enforcement can access information collected by the automated license plate readers.
WATCH: DeFlock Hamilton protesters rally outside Hamilton City Hall over Flock cameras
The DeFlock Hamilton demonstration ran from 5 to 8 p.m. and comes after Flock cameras were cut down in nearby Hanover Township.
The group was small, but protesters received support from passing drivers. Some motorists honked as they drove by, while others shouted out their windows in solidarity.
One protester carried a sign designed to resemble a Flock camera.
“They got cameras everywhere and they're tracking us, and I don't believe it's the government's job to track us,” said Jay Stevison, a DeFlock protester.
DeFlock Hamilton is a local chapter of the national DeFlock movement, which advocates against automated license plate reader technology.
Adrian Rye, a local protester, compared Flock cameras with traditional traffic cameras.
“A traffic camera built into an intersection, it's CCTV,” Rye said. “Whereas these Flock cameras are gonna have AI built in and they are causing significantly more problems than good.”
Jordan Haire, Democratic candidate for Ohio's 47th House District, also attended the protest and raised concerns about access to Flock data.
“You don't have to have a warrant to access that information and I think that's a concern,” Haire said.
Jason Purviance, Libertarian candidate for Ohio's 47th House District, said the technology amounts to broad surveillance.
“Every vehicle that passes by, that's the definition of mass surveillance. That's not targeted,” Purviance said.
What Hamilton police say about Flock cameras
Following the camera removals in Hanover Township, the Hamilton Police Department, or HPD, released revised data-sharing guidelines detailing how information collected by its Flock cameras can be accessed.
HPD says law-enforcement agencies within 50 miles of Hamilton are automatically approved to search Hamilton's Flock data for vehicles.
Agencies outside that 50-mile radius must request access from Hamilton police. Federal access requires explicit authorization from HPD.
HPD says Flock cameras capture license plates and vehicle characteristics to help identify vehicles connected to criminal investigations.
The department says its system does not use facial recognition, biometric analysis or live video.
According to HPD's policy, most Flock data is automatically deleted after 30 days unless it is connected to an investigation or otherwise retained as evidence.
The policy also prohibits officers from using ALPR technology to monitor people or groups engaged in First Amendment-protected activity.
Protesters question how the technology can be used
While DeFlock Hamilton says it does not advocate destroying cameras, protesters pointed to reports from around the country involving officers accused or charged with misusing Flock data to stalk, harass or track people without a warrant.
“Most people that want to abuse it, well, thirty days is plenty of time to abuse it,” Stevison.
The group's concerns extend beyond Hamilton.
“More than Butler County, this is a national problem, and it's only growing,” Rye said.
DeFlock Hamilton says its online presence has grown quickly since the group was created about three and a half weeks ago.
According to the group's Facebook page manager, its page has generated nearly 600,000 views and 56,000 engagements on its protest videos and other content.
What's next?
A Hamilton city spokesperson said the city has no further comment at this time.
For DeFlock Hamilton, organizers say Wednesday's demonstration is part of a broader effort to challenge the use of automated license plate readers and raise questions about privacy, data access and police surveillance.
