Public meeting addresses Pocatello police use of FLOCK Safety tech
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)- The Pocatello Police Department held a public town hall at Pocatello City Hall on Wednesday night to present information and address community concerns regarding its use of Flock Safety automatic license plate reader cameras.
Following an official presentation outlining how the Police Department utilizes the camera technology, local residents voiced opposing viewpoints during a public comment session.
The Police Department began exploring automated license plate reader technology in late 2023 and signed a contract with Flock Safety in 2024 after reviewing multiple vendors. Department representatives explained that the cameras are designed to serve as an investigative tool by scanning vehicle license plates and identifying unique vehicle characteristics, rather than performing facial recognition, issuing automated traffic citations or monitoring driver identities.
“What is flock safety? It's an automatic license plate reader designed to assist law enforcement with investigations,” a Cpt. Zac Bartschi said. “That's its primary purpose. We want to try and use it to the best of our ability.”
Pocatello police officers detailed the specific privacy limits and operational safeguards built into their system usage. The cameras are positioned only toward public streets and capture license plates and vehicle features such as make, model and color, rather than identifying drivers or tracking cell phones. Police emphasized that data collected by the system is owned entirely by law enforcement, is never sold to third parties and automatically deletes after 30 days by default unless saved as part of an official investigation report.
Before using the system, officers must complete certified training and input a specific case or report number for every search. The department conducts monthly audits of system usage and publishes the findings on a public web portal. Department data sharing is restricted to criminal investigations with regional partners, including Bannock County, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. PPD says the data is never used for immigration purposes.
Police representatives shared several cases where the automated system assisted local law enforcement. In one instance, the cameras helped officers track down and arrest a 71-year-old man accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old female. In another case, the technology helped locate a endangered 13-year-old female registered in the national crime database. The system also assisted officers when a patient with dementia drove out of Pocatello in the middle of the night, allowing local police to notify Nevada authorities, who located the individual and provided emergency medical care.
Community members offered contrasting perspectives during the public comment period following the presentation. David Nelson, a Pocatello resident, spoke in favor of keeping the camera network in place, referencing his own experience of being struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle on Main Street without anyone stopping to assist.
“I think a camera system would be nice to have. And I can see the camera systems would only benefit to the victims, the people that need it.”
Other residents raised concerns regarding digital privacy, corporate lobbying and government surveillance. Elijah Huneycutt, a 22-year Pocatello resident, questioned the expansion of automatic license plate readers across the country.
“Flock, a billion dollar company from Georgia has already spent over $2 million in lobby funds, both at federal and local levels, to deploy the cameras across America,” Huneycutt said. “But these cameras there have been more than 200 cases of misuse, including romantic stalking, wrongful stops and non-police lookups, hacking, which multiple sources on the internet show that is very relatively easy to tap into with a simple computer.”
Jackson Beck, another local resident, questioned whether studies demonstrate that automated license plate readers directly reduce crime rates, urging the City Council to reconsider its contract.
“The truth is, there aren't any well-established stats showing they actually reduce crime,” Beck said. “And even if it does create a small reduction in crime, it is not worth the costs. We know that the software makes mistakes. The software is very hackable and that police officers, not necessarily this community but nationwide, have abused the tool.”
Resident Matthew Lambert expressed mistrust in the Pocatello Police Department. "We might also ask ourselves why we give this data to a police department that clearly cannot be trusted to use appropriate force and discretion." Lambert continued, "I would like to assure all of you that these cameras will come down, and myself and others in this room for five years tirelessly to ensure that."
A video recording of the public town hall meeting is scheduled to be available for public viewing on the City of Pocatello YouTube channel on Thursday.
