Clay Sheriff Implements $1.3 Million Surveillance Camera Network
The Data Collected Will Be Kept for Up to One Year
This article has been updated to reflect information provided by Flock Safety.
In the summer of 2023, Sheriff Michelle Cook and the Clay County Sheriff's office contracted with Flock Group, Inc. to install surveillance devices on the roadways of Clay County.
The "Flock Safety Falcon" cameras record the license plates, video, and images of every car passing them. They were quietly installed all over Clay County this summer, with little to no information being provided to the public about their purpose or function.
Previous attempts by multiple people to obtain a copy of the contract between the Sheriff's office and Flock were unsuccessful. Contracts provided via public records requests were heavily redacted. All pertinent info, including the program's cost, the number of cameras, and details on how the data mined by the cameras would be used, was entirely removed from the contract. The secrecy surrounding the cameras is odd, as the Sheriff's Office under Michelle Cook has made it a habit of being as transparent as possible with info about programs and initiatives they have implemented.
Unfortunately for the Sheriff's Office, Clay News & Views obtained a contract copy with no redactions. The contract shows Flock, Inc. will provide 95 security cameras to the Sheriff's office for $1.3 million over the next five years.
The cameras collect license plate data from passing vehicles and images and videos that can be used to identify vehicles when the license plate cannot be captured. Per the contract, the data collected is kept by Flock for 'Up to 1 Year.'
The deal includes storing the data by Flock and an online interface called 'Flock OS' to manage the data and cameras in real time. The system contains two frightening capabilities per the company's website and YouTube page. First, Flock OS can use the cameras in their networks to track vehicles in real-time. Second, Flock OS includes an artificial intelligence feature that can use the data collected and stored by their system to predict where a car being tracked will go next. The Sheriff’s Office will always know where you are and where you are likely to go next.
See more in the promo video from Flock:
Some have expressed concerns about the data being collected by the surveillance system. The cameras record 24/7, and no one outside Flock and the Sheriff's Office has the full details of what is collected. Additionally, nothing in the contract outlines what safeguards are in place to prevent unauthorized access to data by Sheriff's office employees. And as we know, in Clay County, improper use of data by law enforcement can happen. This sort of data in the wrong hands can be immensely dangerous.
Flock Inc. has faced scrutiny in other places due to allegations that a Chinese data mining company is a minority owner. The current global tensions between China and the U.S. have caused some municipalities to reject camera proposals from Flock. Flock states that none of their cameras are made in China and that the data they collect is never sold to third parties. Flock does use the data for ‘marketing’ and ‘enhancements.’
The Sheriff's Office maintains that they are simply collecting data that anyone could collect in public and that data can be used to solve crimes. While that may be true, there is a difference between a private citizen collecting data and the government creating a surveillance network to track the movement of all citizens. And make no mistake, this surveillance system is designed to track every road and every vehicle that travels on the roads.
For example, these cameras cover Highway 17, Highway 16, and the Shands Bridge in Green Cove Springs. The surveillance network makes it impossible to travel to or from Green Cove without being tracked by the Government. Critics of the system believe the data collected presents risks that outweigh the benefits. As of yet, the Sheriff’s office has not been receptive to conversations about concerns related to the system.
The full contract between the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Flock Safety can be found below.
On 10/19/2023, Flock Safety contacted Clay News & Views regarding this article. The email from Flock can be found here.
What is the purpose of this? Clay County residents should have been informed. Do my rights to privacy end with the Sheriff's Dept. recording my vehicle, my image? Where does this information end up and what does it provide ? I want some answers. NOW!
Safety stand point if that’s the case, (i.e. amber alerts) could deem useful. As to safe guards in place/who’s able to access, that’s highly questionable especially with our driver data/tracking abilities. Also will they get a “TO DO” list if a tags out of data, suspended license, etc… Be nice to have a straight forward answer and not done with so much secrecy…