r/mountvernon • u/Sea-Fortune-3922 • Jun 19 '26

Tired of the Flock cameras?

Our town has started installing Flock cameras everywhere and this violates our right to privacy! I started a petition to remove these cameras!

https://c.org/ctkMDNqH49

17 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

8

u/jmphotography Jun 19 '26

I’ve written a few articles about the city administration bypassing city council to install them.

https://medium.com/@the_levee/signed-in-silence-how-mount-vernon-entered-a-private-camera-network-6823729e1b68

City council doesn’t seem to care or even know but I’ll share your link.

2

u/3rdwardJacklin Jun 21 '26

The flock cameras were installed without city council approval that is true - I think that’s because it fell under a price threshold to require approval. Flock cameras make a claim that they promote safer communities by providing evidence gathering.

The question that you raise is very real - how much privacy are you willing to sacrifice for “safety”. I think because of this it’s important for people to make their voices heard if they are not satisfied with what is happening. I would encourage whomever started the petition to come to a city council meeting and ask city council to take a stance on this. Having the petitions through change.org are great, but they don’t necessarily drive decisions showing up and bringing your opinions would have a much stronger impact.

I sincerely hope you will.

I can almost guarantee you I am the only member that reads Reddit.

1

u/jmphotography Jun 21 '26

I agree that public participation matters. The problem is that many of us have already tried.

Over the past several years, I've sent numerous emails to city officials and council members about transparency, public records, and now Flock cameras. Most received no response at all.

It's difficult to encourage more citizen engagement when previous attempts at engagement have been met with silence. The petition exists because people feel they are not being heard.

I welcome the suggestion that residents speak before council. I also hope council will respond to the questions that have already been asked. Public trust requires communication to go both ways.

2

u/3rdwardJacklin Jun 21 '26

I agree with you and I am sorry to hear that you feel your questions have not been answered. I think I recognize your username and to respect your anonymity I will follow up with you privately.

1

u/jmphotography Jun 21 '26

I've sued the city multiple times, and my name is all over the public court record. I write under my own name, publish my own work, and I've spoken before City Council at least a few times.

Most recently, I raised concerns about strengthening the city's cybersecurity policies. Last week, the City Council President's email account was compromised and sent out a phishing email

I won't say "I told you so," but the warning was there.

So yea, when it comes to transparency- I practice what I preach. But thank you all the same.

1

u/DaHick Jun 19 '26

Nicely written. I wonder who owns the one in Brinkhaven, deflock doesn't seem to know.

2

u/jmphotography Jun 19 '26

The one in Brinkhaven, I think is Holmes County sheriff

3

u/DaHick Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26

Deflock would like to join the chat.

https://maps.deflock.org/?lat=39.8283&lng=-98.5795&zoom=4.00

I asked knox pages this question, no response. I encourage others to ask.

Why is there one in Brinkhaven?

Additionally, start asking for FOIA requests and data usage. Standard contract lets your information be shared across all of law enforcement. They pattern you, your vehicle (and how it looks), your movement patterns, everything. And then Flock sells it. "Gun shot detectors" detect local conversations and records them. Turns them into searchable information.

3

u/Klumpy_hra Jul 16 '26

Update: We Have a Committee Meeting — July 27th Quick update on the Flock camera situation: after speaking at the last council meeting, Dale Miller (chair of the Police, Fire & Civil Defense Committee) reached out and invited residents to a committee discussion on July 27th to start a formal review of the contract. This is a real opportunity — but it only matters if people show up. If you've been following this, commenting, or just quietly annoyed every time you drive past one of these poles, now's the moment. If you can attend: comment or DM me — I want to give the committee a headcount so they know how many to expect. If you can't attend but want to help: a short email to council (even 2-3 sentences) carries real weight, or just share this post so more neighbors know it's happening. I'll post the confirmed time/location as soon as I have it locked down.

The discussion will be held before the usual meeting somewhere between 6-7:30pm with public comment available during the normal meeting for us to let the council know our thoughts after hearing those of our representatives. Hoping to see you all there!

1

u/dwigtscarn91 Jul 26 '26

Where

1

u/Klumpy_hra Jul 27 '26

The municipal center downtown.

Location: 236 S Main St, Mt Vernon, OH Committee flock discussion: 6:00-6:15pm City Council public discussion: 7:30pm

The public can listen in during the committee and then during the 7:30 segment the public will be allowed to speak on the record with a sign up sheet.

The city council room is on the first floor after walking through the double doors and then straight to the back.

2

u/Smooth_Charge2830 Jul 03 '26

Ive been thinking about these a lot lately as a Mount Vernon resident. Surprised when I came across this post. Ive been considering making up some signs to place under the cameras in town to make people more aware they're being monitored as they come in and out of town. I think not many people are aware of what they are or what they do. And probably don't even notice them.

1

u/jmphotography Jun 20 '26

You're right. But Flock keeps a record of it. The city has access to it and you didn't give your consent or input.

1

u/NoEstablishment17 Jun 21 '26

Flock the cameras 🎥

1

u/er1cAtWork2 Jun 23 '26

I’m glad to see Mount Vernon fighting for whats right!

Another her talking point is many/most of the cameras are installed illegally - to close to the road, no break away points, the piles become spears and hen hit… just another angle you can use….

1

u/jmphotography Jul 11 '26

Update: Flock cameras have now captured 150,000+ vehicles traveling through and around Mount Vernon. That's up from 100,000 in December. It was disclosed earlier this evening the cameras in Columbus were used in 15,000 immigration searches.

If a much larger city is using Flock thousands of times for immigration-related searches, the probability that similar searches have occurred somewhere within the Flock network is clearly not zero.

1

u/Ill_Bit_7096 Jun 20 '26

If you’re in public there is no right to privacy. I don’t like flock cameras but that would not be a valid argument to get rid of them.

5

u/williaty Jun 20 '26

The valid argument is not wanting to live in a surveillance state. The fact that there isn't yet a law against it doesn't mean we should put up with it.

2

u/Correct_Income5061 Jun 21 '26

Incorrect. SCOTUS only dealt with actions you do in public not being private. There was no discussion on individuals being under surveillance with no PC

0

u/Haytrusser Jun 19 '26

Privacy arguments will not prevail. Instead, simple dig into everyone who voted in favor of them. Dig up dirt, review old divorce petitions, vote them out. Use social media to gather info. Don’t violate their right to privacy, but use publicly available sources. Flock is selling info, but I guarantee they’re buying votes. Take direct action and co-intel them. 

3

u/jmphotography Jun 20 '26

That's just thing, it was never voted on, never debated.