The city of Florence will hold a townhall style meeting Monday about whether to continue using private company Flock’s automatic license plate reader cameras.
Eugene, Springfield and Lane County suspended their contracts with Flock last month, after months of public outcry.
Some Florence residents, such as Justin Ludwig, told their city council last month that they want Flock out of their community, too. He said he doesn’t believe the company can keep its data out of the hands of immigration agents, and that it violates everyone’s privacy.
"People can choose not to carry cellphones or install Ring cameras, but they need to use the roads to see their doctors to go to work and school,” Ludwig said. “Our police cannot reasonably monitor access by out-of-state actors. That is not their job."
The city of Florence activated its first Flock camera in 2024. In a meeting last month, Mayor Rob Ward said residents should be able to weigh in on the technology’s future in the community.
"I'm sure there are some people that think we should have it paused, and there's other people that have good reason to think it should continue and we need to hear from all those people," Ward said.
Florence has four Flock cameras now, and will soon have six, according to the city. The city’s first camera was installed at the Highway 101 and 126 junction and helped police recover 36 stolen vehicles and find 20 missing people, according to material published by the city in advance of Monday’s meeting.
Eugene reported similar successes in the few months it had cameras active, making dozens of felony arrests including a burglary ring allegedly targeting Asian-American business owners.
The meeting is at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 5 at the Florence Events Center. Those looking to speak should sign up in advance if possible, especially if they are attending online. An in-person signup sheet will also be available up until five minutes before the meeting starts.
Oregon lawmakers will likely consider automatic license plate reader technology this legislative session.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, told KLCC in December that he believed ground rules are needed to make sure any company providing vehicle tracking services in Oregon is following the state’s sanctuary and shield laws.
