TRENTON, Ohio — In an effort to stem a tidal wave of anti-Flock sentiment and potentially save his department's access to nine AI-powered license plate readers and two live feed cameras, Trenton Police Chief Patrick Carr called for people to come and talk with him at a town hall Tuesday.
In an informal and relatively intimate setting in council chambers, the chief laid out why he wanted to talk with people in town, what the system allows them to do to solve crimes, and took questions and criticism openly.
Concerns ranged from anxiety over mass surveillance to excessive tracking and misuse by rogue officers, and Carr acknowledged them.
WATCH: Chief Carr talks Flock for two hours with concerned Trenton residents
Carr said the Flock cameras have allowed his department alone to solve crimes ranging from serial sexual assault to armed robbery. He said it's commonly used to track missing people or to help find stolen property and vehicles.
The national backlash has driven adjustments in who can access data from Trenton's Flock cameras, when they can access it, and how.
First, Carr said they've limited access to departments within a 50-mile radius.
"From the last time I talked about this in this room, we've eliminated 1,300 agencies from accessing, you know, Dalton, Georgia, doesn't access my data," he said.
When asked whether he would follow other area departments and councils in either pausing use of the system or cancelling contracts with Flock, Carr said he was confident his department was using the system legally, ethically and in a way that improves public safety.
"If I thought we were taking a step over the line, I would put a stop to it, or I would stop it," he said.
Carr said he would take his own questions and those raised at this town hall to a meeting with Flock representatives scheduled for next Wednesday and would likely call another town hall afterward to share the results.
