What we know about the Flock license-plate reader cameras in Springfield 

The Springfield City Council this evening will review information about the use of automated license-plate recognition cameras by police and advise city staff on how they should be used.

The discussion is happening on the heels of Eugene pausing its cameras while the city evaluates its contract with Flock Safety, who supplies the cameras. The Eugene City Council voted Oct. 8 to recommend that the city manager turn off their license-plate reader cameras, which was done last week. 

In Springfield, police announced Sept. 26 that they had started installing 25 Flock cameras mounted along major routes into and out of the city and high-traffic commercial areas. Police said installation began in order to meet a grant funding deadline, with cameras turned on “for calibration and validation.” Police said that once each site was verified, the cameras were deactivated “until a broader community discussion takes place.”

Police say the cameras assist in active investigations, such as locating stolen vehicles or suspects in a crime, and they are not used to track individuals’ daily movements. Meanwhile, Flock camera opponents have told the City Council they’re concerned about privacy and how the camera data is shared.

Ahead of the work session, the police department’s Criminal Intelligence Analyst Brian Austin prepared a memo to the city manager regarding license-plate reader cameras. It reviews and addresses concerns raised by community members. Here’s what we know about the cameras in Springfield:

How is the department paying for the cameras?

The Springfield Police Department paid for the cameras with a $93,000 Oregon Criminal Justice Commission grant to fight organized retail theft. The city says the cost of the 25 cameras will be $77,000 per year, and that no general fund money is being used to support the program. 

Police say stolen vehicles are frequently used in retail theft crimes, and regional travel is often used to avoid apprehension.

Springfield Police Chief Jami Resch said in an Aug. 7 meeting of the Police Advisory Committee that the previous chief, Andrew Shearer, pursued the grant that is paying for the cameras. Shearer resigned in March, and Resch became chief after serving as Springfield’s deputy chief since 2023.

The police department asked the Criminal Justice Commission in January if it could reallocate some grant money the department had proposed to use for radios, cell phones and other equipment to the license-plate reader cameras. The Commission approved the request, according to the police department memo to the city manager. 

Police say the grant their initial funding came from was recently opened again, and their upcoming request will include ongoing funding for the cameras to cover costs through at least 2027 if fully funded. If the police department does not receive grant funding for the cameras, the program will end and the cameras will be removed, according to materials submitted by City Manager Nancy Newton in advance of the meeting. 

What do they capture?

Police say Flock’s system is focused on license plate recognition and vehicle feature analysis, such as make, model, color and distinctive visual attributes like roof racks or bumper stickers. The cameras that Springfield police have installed take snapshot photos and do not have video capabilities, according to the memo. The system does not capture biometric information, track human movement or perform facial recognition. 

Springfield police have publicized the camera locations. Police say that while there are cameras near PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center RiverBend that may capture vehicle plates, they can’t provide a full picture of origin or destination. 

In contrast, Eugene has not published where its 57 license-plate reader cameras are located because of concerns of possible criminal mischief. 

Springfield police said one camera is pending installation “due to unforeseen circumstances” and that three cameras have been damaged or destroyed since installation. 

How is the data stored?

The cameras don’t have public IP addresses, meaning they can’t be directly accessed from the open internet, according to the memo. 

Flock stores the image data, which consists of vehicle stills with time, date and location metadata, within Amazon Web Services’ GovCloud. The data is encrypted and permanently deleted after 30 days unless it is required for an active investigation or legal reason approved by the city.

Police say the stored data is not connected to DMV systems or any database with personal identifying information, and that law enforcement would have to follow legal pathways to match a vehicle with an individual during an investigation.

Who has access to the data?

The city owns all data collected by the cameras, according to its contract with Flock, and Flock can’t share or sell data to any outside agency or private party without approval. The contract allows Flock to disclose footage to law enforcement, government officials or third parties if legally required by a subpoena or court order.

Springfield’s policy on automated license-plate recognition cameras states the data may be released to other authorized law enforcement officials and agencies for legitimate law enforcement purposes. Sharing is done through the Flock Network Sharing process, which is restricted to law enforcement agencies only, according to the memo. 

About 300 law enforcement agencies and private entities share their license-plate camera data with Springfield police, according to a list from the police department. According to Flock Safety’s Transparency Portal for the Springfield Police Department, the department shares its data with 81 law enforcement agencies around the country. 

According to the memo, federal agencies are clearly identified within the Flock Sharing request portal with a designation label. Springfield does not currently share information with any federal agencies, and the police department says that based on internal guidelines it will not provide access to them. 

Why does the Flock Transparency Portal show vehicle reads and search audits?

According to the Transparency Portal for Springfield police, 64,012 unique vehicles have been detected in the last 30 days. Police say that this number has stopped increasing as of 24 hours after the last camera deactivation took place during the installation week of Sept. 22-26.

Police say the search audit logs available on the portal show a record of authorized users, like Springfield Police personnel, conducting manual searches within the system. Deputy Chief George Crolly said in an email Oct. 15, that the searches are of data collected by Flock cameras outside of Springfield.

“These searches may be performed across shared networks or historical data that still exists from other agencies,” the memo states. “This metric is not connected to our cameras capturing any new images.”

Can Springfield cancel its Flock Safety contract?

The memo states that the city has the ability to cancel its contract with Flock Safety at any time. However, the city would still need to fulfill the financial commitment outlined in the contract, and the grant funding would be used to cover the cost of the system regardless of whether the cameras remain in operation.

The memo states the contract does not have any parameters regarding the potential cancellation in the future between contracted periods. There is no penalty if the city chooses not to renew the contract and Flock would then remove their equipment.

Correspondent Jaime Adame contributed to this story.