DELAVAN, Wis. — Several Wisconsin cities have voted to end their relationship with Flock Systems and their surveillance cameras. Delavan is now one step away from joining the list.
Delavan's General Operations Committee decided Tuesday evening to recommend removing or turning off Flock's cameras on city property.
Delavan City Council will take up the measure and make the final decision on Flock.
"The citizens are saying, 'They don't want it,' so why are we trying to push it on them?" said Delavan alderman Calvin Square, who is also on the General Operations Committee and voted against Flock's continued presence in Delavan.
Ten Delavan citizens spoke before the committee before they made their vote. All but one were opposed to Flock's cameras.
"It's a third-party company and it's ripe for abuse," Marcell Wedel said before the committee. "When something can be abused, it often times is."
"I moved to Delavan because I felt like it was very safe," Anna Hess said. "The Flock cameras do not make me feel safe."
Delavan-Darien Police Department chief Jim Hansen made his case for keeping Flock cameras before the vote.
Hansen said the cameras are an important tool for his department and that Walworth County's law enforcement agencies have all agreed to shared privacy standards with the information collected from the cameras.
"We have located missing and endangered people and elderly people missing from outside jurisdictions," Hansen said. "We have instituted seven-day retention, a case number and a reason for every search, and a biweekly review."
Opponents of the cameras say their concern is not with the police department's usage of the cameras, but what Flock does with the data.
"It makes people feel like their privacy is being violated, legally or not," said Jack Savercool.
"People started feeling uneasy, vulnerable, and not wanting to commute around the area as much," said Rachel DeBow, who started a petition against the cameras.
Delavan City Council will likely vote on Flock's future during their next scheduled meeting on October 21.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
