Woodstock is looking to purchase numerous Flock surveillance cameras for the Woodstock Square, which initially failed to get approval but is set to be discussed again next month, as residents voice their concerns.
The Woodstock City Council discussed an ordinance proposed for a lease agreement between the Woodstock Police Department and Flock Safety Group at its November 4 meeting.
The proposed three-year agreement is for six surveillance video cameras — not license plate reader cameras — to be installed on the Woodstock Square at a cost of $21,800 for the first year, followed by $21,500 each subsequent year.
The Woodstock Police Department has been awarded a one-time $9,000 Organized Retail Crime grant through the Office of the Illinois Attorney General but the grant award must be spent during this fiscal year.
The ordinance failed to pass at the November 4 meeting after a 3-3 vote, with Woodstock Mayor Mike Turner being absent.
Councilwoman Melissa McMahon asked several questions about the proposal, including where the camera footage would be stored, who has access to the footage and who could obtain the footage.
McMahon said the addition of the cameras would make people feel watched and could serve as an invasion of people’s privacy.
She also said she is not comfortable with Flock as a company and does not support the proposal.
Councilman Bob Seegers said he supports the proposal and believes it would be better if the security cameras included facial recognition to help police solve crimes.
Numerous residents spoke out against the proposal.
One resident mentioned concerns about the federal government, including ICE, gaining access to the system and another resident said the Square is a place for people to shop and visit and the cameras would change the city by having “big brother” watching.
Several residents said their concerns were with Flock as a company and they were worried about the company having access to the data. “Flock is not selling cameras; they’re gathering data,” one of the residents said.
Woodstock Police Chief John Lieb said the city council gave guidance to staff eight years ago to implement a security video solution for the Woodstock Square.
“Since then, WPD has collaborated with the City of Woodstock Information Technology Department in assessing solutions that were capable of providing topnotch video security camera systems for a historically sensitive, limited-resourced area,” Lieb said.
The Phase I portion of the project, in the area of Benton Street and Main Street, is nearing completion and the police department is prepared to implement Phase II, which includes the interior of the Woodstock Square.
Phase II was originally planned to begin in the next fiscal year but the grant award announcement has moved up the timeline, Lieb said.
The police chief said the proposal with Flock is a “high-quality, cost-effective” camera option.
The city is already in a five-year agreement with Flock Safety Group for automated license plate readers (ALPR) that are placed around the city.
“They have become instrumental in resolving many alleged crimes in their short tenure, and the Officers/Detectives utilize this resource on a daily basis,” Lieb said.
The proposed Flock cameras would be positioned for “maximum coverage” of the Woodstock Square but are also capable of remote pan-tilt-zoom if a specific area of concern occurs.
The topic has been placed on the agenda for the city council’s December 2 meeting to be discussed again at that time.