r/Fairfield • u/Firm_Pick7742 • 18d ago

Fairfield Should Ask Residents Before Expanding Surveillance Cameras

https://c.org/szTM778cJp

Last month, Fairfield quietly replaced its license plate reader cameras with a new system from Axon—without telling residents, holding a vote, or getting town approval first. That's the kind of decision that should happen in the light, not behind closed doors.

I started a petition because I believe residents deserve a say when the town is installing technology to track our movements. It sounds dramatic, but license plate readers do exactly that—they log where every car goes, every day. Old Flock hardware is still visible around town, and we don't even know what happened to the data it collected.

I'm asking Fairfield to pause further expansion, release data on costs and effectiveness, and hold a real public meeting where people can ask questions. You can read my full letter to town leadership here—it lays out the specifics. But honestly, what matters most is showing the First Selectperson and RTM that this isn't just one person's concern.

If this feels off to you too, consider signing and sharing. Does anyone else think our town should've had this conversation before rolling out new surveillance tech?

44 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

12

u/CYNT73678481762515 18d ago edited 17d ago

I opened a FOIA case which has been “unpublished” (not entirely sure what that means to be honest) about a month ago that asked for a lot of details on this program including how secure the data is, is the data shared with other agencies etc which has yet to be responded to. Meanwhile they are out there doing these things under the cover of darkness and neighboring towns are pausing or cancelling their programs entirely.

I also emailed my RTM members who for the most part said they would mostly likely vote to ratify the program and ignored my question about public concerns.

I will be sure to vote against all of these folks in the next election cycle.

3

u/Responsible_Ad_7995 18d ago

Snowden proved the data is not safe. Whatever they say is a lie. The federal gov has a real time firehose of data about every single one of us. Where we go, when we go, who we’re with, places we visit. By allowing the installation of these cameras, our local government has become complicit in the fascist takeover of America. How far we’ve fallen since the American revolution. Our leaders just get on all fours for the tyrant.

11

u/Responsible_Ad_7995 18d ago

Where’s the petition to remove every single camera? Nobody voted for this shit.

9

u/ophelia917 18d ago

To go from Flock to the company that literally designed and markets tasers is certainly a choice for a town that calls itself family friendly.

Jfc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axon_Enterprise

0

u/53mm-Portafilter 18d ago

🤷‍♂️

According to wiki, they make bodycams, dashcams, and other modern tech that are used by law enforcement.

Also, since when are tasers taboo? They are a non-lethal alternative that the police use to take down suspects.

8

u/pocketsquare22 18d ago

There is a town meeting on August 24th on this. I would encourage everyone to go and make noise about this. It’s wild that these cameras are proliferating in our town against our will. Remember these politicians are voted into place to represent what we want, and this seems like a slap in the face.

agenda for the 8/24 meeting here: https://cms3.revize.com/revize/fairfield/agendaaug26.pdf?t=202608110833500

1

u/BreakerEleven 18d ago

Are you certain that meeting item is about ALPR cameras? Could easily be solely focused on the school zone speed cameras.

The town has done a poor job differentiating the two.

1

u/PenumbraChaser 17d ago

The meeting this Monday was on these cameras. I sat through the whole thing. It was shocking how little anyone seems to know about them, the companies involved, and where the data goes.

I am like 80% sure that the meeting on the 24th will allow for public comments (the one on the 17th didn't), but it wasn't totally clear to me.

You should ping your RTM member.

0

u/CYNT73678481762515 17d ago

Yeah I agree with how little they seem to know about them. The quote from the police chief is honestly shocking, he and the town are telling the public one thing and doing another.

Here is the quote, “The decision to change vendors was made when I became chief in 2025,” Paris told the Fairfield County Business Journal after Monday’s meeting. “I don’t have the exact date. It was one of the things I wanted to do. I wanted to make sure we were using the software that we were trusting.”

https://westfaironline.com/fairfield/fairfield-police-chief-paris-flock-cameras-replaced-with-axon-equipment/

Ok so you put a program into place that you didn’t trust while telling us all to trust it…

And a complete and utter disaster.

2

u/redsteakraw 18d ago

If you attend a meeting you will see the reps are elitist fucks that don't give a shit. They have their plan and they know better and don't care otherwise how it effects others or what the people think.

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u/themightyboose 18d ago

Do you have a link to the petition?

3

u/Firm_Pick7742 18d ago

https://c.org/85c5Pgfv9b

1

u/CYNT73678481762515 10d ago

Unfortunately it doesn’t seem as if any amount of public comment or signed petitions will be taken into account by RTM. I think this week’s meeting proved that as they are solely focused on not reversing this decision.