Columbia labor union launches initiative petition amid Flock camera debate
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
As Columbia residents gathered outside City Hall to protest the city’s use of Flock Safety cameras, members of Laborers’ Local 955 began collecting signatures for an initiative petition that could put new restrictions on the technology before voters.
The petition seeks to amend the Columbia Code of Ordinances by adding two sections establishing rules for how the city collects, stores, uses and shares personal data. One section addresses data privacy and responsible data stewardship broadly, while the other sets specific requirements for automatic license plate readers.
Andrew Hutchinson, deputy business director for LiUNA Local 955, said union members voted to ask the city to suspend its use of Flock cameras while officials consider additional safeguards for how the data is handled.
“When it came down to it, the membership voted to ask, Flock or ask City Council to suspend operations with Flock and to seriously look at implementing safeguards around private companies’ use of this data and sharing of this data,” Hutchinson told ABC 17 News.
The proposed ordinance would require the city to collect only personal information “reasonably necessary for legitimate government purposes and limit access to authorized personnel.” It would also restrict the use of personal data to monitor people exercising constitutional rights, create profiles for nongovernmental purposes or make decisions based solely on unverified automated predictions.
The proposed changes would apply to information collected through technologies including surveillance cameras, license plate readers, body-worn cameras and drones.
The section specifically addressing license plate readers would establish limits on how the information can be used, how long it can be retained and with whom it can be shared. It would also require audits, public reporting and accountability measures for vendors and contractors.
Hutchinson said members’ concerns extend beyond privacy, pointing to the cost of the city’s contract with Flock and the broader implications of surveillance technology.
“When members brought this to the meeting where they voted on to work on this, some of the big concerns were knowing the financial crunch that everyone is in, of how expensive Flock services are. I think by our last, my last review of the data, was roughly $1 million a year, and we know that there are workers who are making less than $19 an hour who work for the city, who qualify for public assistance,” Hutchinson told ABC 17 News. “So it was a combination of the fiscal impact that Flock has on city finances and as well just concerns about, the way that LPRs and companies like Flock, that has been misused by police departments across the state, ease of access of data, and our members just have a lot of concern about the growing apparatus of surveillance in this country.”
City records show Columbia’s initial first-year costs for Flock Safety totaled $584,850, which included installation costs. The city pays approximately $515,000 annually in recurring costs. The Columbia Police Department accounted for $539,400 in first-year costs and $467,000 annually thereafter. Parks and Recreation accounted for $45,450 initially and $39,000 in recurring annual costs. The contract expires in March 2027.
The petition effort began as dozens of residents gathered outside city hall ahead of a special City Council session and public hearing about the cameras. Protesters held signs and used megaphones to lead chants, while some union members circulated among the crowd and collected signatures.
If the group gathers enough valid signatures, it plans to submit the petition to the City Council and seek to have the proposed ordinance placed on the ballot. The petition asks council members to adopt the proposed changes or submit them to voters at the next election allowed under state law.
Hutchinson said the effort is also intended to encourage residents to recognize their ability to influence local government decisions.
“Our hope is that… just by having this petition out and having these conversations at the library, at the post office, in the streets, on the doors, that community residents can start realizing… whether it’s Flock or whether it’s the budget or trash services, that city residents have an immense ability to impact how their city functions,” Hutchinson told ABC 17 News.
He said the initiative petition is not a typical issue for the labor union, but members saw a connection between the camera contract, city spending and the interests of working families.
“It’s not something that a labor union normally talks about. And I think for our members, it was a concern about the fiscal impact of the city and just guiding our city council into making decisions that put money in working families’ pockets, rather than just collecting data on them,” Hutchinson said.
While many people at Monday’s protest opposed the cameras, others argued the technology is an important tool for law enforcement.
Damascene Kurukulasuriya, who said he has lived in Columbia for three decades, credited Flock cameras with helping law enforcement investigate the Halloween shooting in downtown Columbia.
“The Flock cameras have done very well. It was pretty much responsible for making an arrest a few days back in the Halloween shooting. This city is getting more crowded and getting more unsafe, because of a lot of factors,” he said. “But thanks to the Flock cameras, there is a very good tool to investigate crime and give our law enforcement all the help,”
Kurukulasuriya added that cameras are already common in public spaces and businesses, and he questioned why the city’s use of the technology should be treated differently.
“It’s very interesting people who are protesting this. I don’t understand that even in this building, [city hall] as we speak, we are being monitored by cameras. So it’s all over the place. Banks, even churches today. So I don’t see any reason why people should be opposed,” Kurukulasuriya said before the start of the special session.
Flock Safety Director of Public Affairs Trevor Chandler said the company has been attending hundreds of city council meetings across the country as communities debate the use of its technology. He said the company wants those discussions to be based on accurate information.
“This is an incredibly hot topic at city councils, and we’re trying to attend as many as possible. There are important conversations. Most important, we want to make sure is that they’re based on facts so that cities can decide what makes the best sense for them,” Chandler told ABC 17 News.
Chandler claims cities and law enforcement agencies, not Flock, own the data collected by the cameras and determine how it is shared and used.
“Flock does not own the data the cities do, and the cities and the agencies are the only ones that can decide who they share that with and how they use these tools,” Chandler said.
He also said the cameras capture images of the rear of vehicles, focusing on license plates and characteristics such as make, model and color. Chandler said the images can help law enforcement solve crimes, including the Halloween shooting in Columbia.
“License plate reader cameras only focus on the rear of vehicles. They are made to focus on license plates as well as vehicle characteristics like model and color. So these are very straightforward motion sensor images that help police solve crimes faster, like the shooting that we recently saw on Halloween in the area. So we’re very proud of the impact that they’ve made in Columbia,” Chandler told ABC 17 News.
On concerns about potential misuse, Chandler pointed to Flock’s auditing measures, which he said can flag potential misuse and restrict officers’ access to the system.
“We have implemented industry-leading standards such as audit assistance that proactively flags agencies for potential misuse and proactively locks out officers that might be misusing the system,” Chandler said. “We have audit logs, and we’re continuing to innovate on ways to make this even more transparent and accountable, so that communities don’t have to feel like they have to trust that they have all the evidence. They need to know that these tools are being used in ways that align with their community values.”
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