Bend City Council to discuss Flock automated license plate readers at tonight’s meeting as critics voice concerns
Tracee Tuesday
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Bend City Council meets tonight at 6 p.m. at City Hall, with one of the agenda items centering on an amendment to the city’s agreement with Flock Group Inc. — the company providing automatic license plate reader technology for Bend Police.
The proposed amendment would modify the city’s existing contract with Flock, updating the hardware and software products used under the agreement. Officials say the change effectively replaces the older equipment and software with new products while keeping the rest of the contract intact.
KTVZ News will be there, focusing on what the amendment means for transparency, technology use, and public safety here in Bend.
You can watch the meeting online at https://www.youtube.com/live/3CTAuN76Opw
Catch Tracee’s Tuesday full report tonight on our FOX and NBC affiliates during the 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts.
Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said the department began using four Flock cameras six months ago at the entrances and exits from town. She said the license plate readers are used in criminal investigations, where they are looking for specific vehicles.
Some residents critical of the city’s contract with Flock planned to speak to councilors as well, noting that several cities in Oregon and elsewhere have dropped or paused use of their cameras in recent months amid concerns over who would have access to the license plate and other data.
Miller told KTVZ News, “The Flock system is currently set to local lookup only. We did that as an additional safeguard in December, though previously we did have it set to share with Oregon agencies.”
Miller also stressed that the Flock camera system is not the one being used by city contractor Vierra Mobility for the police department’s new Automated Traffic Enforcement system. Bend Police said in their fourth-quarter report that those red-light and speed cameras will go live this month at three locations: NE 27th Street and Neff Road, SE Third Street and Reed Market Road, and SE Powers Road and Business 97.