WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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By Camdyn Glover
On March 4th, the Bloomington City Council met and discussed a resolution for full transparency with Flock Safety technology.
City Council President Isak Asare explains the purpose and intention of his proposal for this resolution.
“When we’re dealing with tools that collect large amounts of data of any sort or particularly location linked information about residents and visitors, many of whom are not suspected of wrongdoing, ‘it might help sometimes’ cannot be our governing standard,” said Asare.
Bloomington residents expressed their concern for a partnership between the city and Flock. The caution originates from having a technology that will further track a person’s movements. This is supported by the license-plate scanners and facial recognition provided by the software.
Furthermore, residents say they are suspicious of the actual purpose of Flock and feel that the government is not being transparent. Constituents believe that this program will be used in cooperation with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Local resident Susan Brackney voiced her opinion during public comment.
“If you use Flock’s technology alongside facial recognition software, you’ve got yourself a live, real time dragnet,” said Brackney.
Joffrey Livingston, another resident participating in public comment, expressed his concern.
“I want to reiterate that transparency about these contracts should be a given. Transparency should be an inherent part of the relationship between people and government,” said Livingston.
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Sarah Owen, the Community Engagement Coordinator for Exodus Refugee Immigration Office in Bloomington, explains the impact for the immigrant community.
“The more that our city invests in data collection allies with profit driven companies and fails to take a firm stand on our community’s basic rights,” said Owen, “the less likely our immigrant community will feel safe to utilize police for when they themselves are victims of a crime.”
Following public comment, council members had the opportunity to make their own statements. Councilman Dave Rollo demonstrated his support for the resolution.
“We’re essentially living in a society where total surveillance is the goal and it is real. That is the hallmark of a totalitarian state,” said Rollo.
This resolution was approved by a 9-0 vote by the council, which will promote greater transparency and pause the expansion of Flock technology. The next meeting will be on March 11th.
