Editor:
The way the Platte City aldermen are handling the Flock camera situation makes it seem like they are either scared to vote, unable (or unwilling) to act, or bought and paid for. They have held multiple hearings and heard from numerous citizens who oppose these cameras. Yet, three months have passed and the only thing they have voted on is implementing guardrails for using the system — almost a year after the cameras were already installed!
These guardrails do absolutely nothing to address the core issues. The Platte City Police Department shares our data with more than 350 other agencies. The Dallas Police Department, Houston Police Department and California Highway Patrol have searched the Kansas City metro area’s Flock cameras more than 1 million times in the past few months. Will these outside agencies be held to the guardrails our city is trying to implement?
These cameras are a net negative: they do not reduce crime, they are habitually abused by law enforcement agencies and they violate our rights — specifically the Fourth Amendment, as highlighted by Sara Hill, a federal judge in Oklahoma. Flock Safety and similar camera systems are building a police state so rapidly that we no longer have the luxury to move cautiously or engage in civic debate while active harm is being done.
The board’s lackadaisical approach to this topic is infuriating. Not only have they misled the public about past votes, but they also cannot seem to agree on what they are currently voting on. The vote on guardrails feels more like an attempt to placate the public rather than an effort to move the needle. Especially considering that we all saw how quickly they moved when it came to installing the cameras in the first place.
Multiple cities have already shut down their cameras and canceled their contracts. This includes neighboring towns like Weston and Parkville, as well as larger cities like Denver and Los Angeles. Why does our board require months of hearings just to make a decision? The only way to protect ourselves is to completely ban and remove these cameras from our city.
What worries me most is that nothing will be done until something terrible happens to one or more of us. Most laws in America are written in blood. We can see the pattern forming right in front of us and we do not have to stand by and wait for our own ink to be spilled.
Jacob Kerschenske
Platte City
