Dumfries is tracking flock camera opinions

Dumfries is calling upon you to share your thoughts on Flock cameras. These are the surveillance cameras that capture vehicle data on public roadways. And joining us now ahead of tomorrow's town hall is Dumfries Mayor, Derek Wood. Mayor Wood, thank you so much for joining us. Marissa, first, thank you for having me. Thanks for being here. Before we jump in, I just want to congratulate you on everything. I haven't seen you on your accomplishment, your remarkable storytelling career, your show and uh all of the Emmys so i just want to say congratulations thank you so much for that i certainly appreciate it i'm glad that you're here to really get into this flock camera business which is a regional one we know that for those who don't know what are they and how do they work so Flock cameras are license plate readers Flock is is is a brand like we had AOL and Gmail and Yahoo Mail Flock is a license plate reader camera type software so it's a brand of software that reads license plates almost like when you go through Easy Pass or you go through speeding tickets but this just reads license plate readers and vehicle types as you understand it how is the info collected and stored because i think that's at the crux of the debate some people are concerned about privacy they understand the security end of it but there are those privacy concerns that out there yeah so first let me explain this because we building my philosophy is we build on three pillars a well-managed government a government that has to be responsible transparent and accountable and just because technology is available doesn't mean we should deploy it to the second pillar is about engaged citizens for us residents shouldn't find out about decisions after they made and so they deserve to be informed and ask questions like you're doing now And then for us, a thriving downtown. But the thing I want you to know about the cameras that we're doing tonight or not tonight, tomorrow, is we're going to do a demonstration so people can see exactly what you're asking, Marissa. So tomorrow at six o'clock, we're holding a public town hall. We're going to demonstrate live the technology. And so this will be an opportunity for you, the residents, to actually see how the technology works. It's an opportunity for them to ask their questions, to understand the benefits, the concerns, no matter what side they're on, but to make sure their voices are heard. I think the biggest thing with technology and what I've said in the past is that technology shouldn't grow faster than public trust. The public needs to trust and be a part of the technology as it comes because it's so much technology that's happening. So whether I think people support the cameras or whether they oppose them, I want everybody to be in the room because I think and I believe with all my heart and engaged community, it doesn't require everyone to agree or to be on the same page. But it does require everybody to have an opportunity to participate in the process. Yeah, I believe that demonstration is going to be very insightful so you can see in real time the technology and how it works and the safeguards that are potentially in place. When did you first start making the consideration about Flock cameras to begin with, Mayor? Flock cameras consideration, it came from, of course, our police department. The consideration came last year. They had some great opportunities to be able to apply for grants. I actually had the opportunity to go out to Axon headquarters out in Phoenix, Arizona, and look at their license plate readers, look at the technology that's going around public safety from body cams to drones to all the technology that's out there. and even then one of the biggest concerns and i don't know marissa do you remember the superbowl commercial with the ring camera and the dogs and the cats and people started having concerns that people were taking the data off the ring cameras uh the biggest thing with technology is when you don't understand technology you don't trust it and so i think the biggest thing and you know scripture uh my people are destroyed because of their what their lack of come on now yeah and so now we have to, in all our getting, make sure that we're getting understanding and we're putting out the information because once you know and understand, you can make better decisions based on what you know. People don't see what's there. They see what we, what they're programmed to see or what they look for. That's exactly what they find. So I'm inviting everybody out. Mayor Dumfries, thank you so much for breaking that down. We'll continue to stay on top of it, and what you all ultimately decide for sure, and that's where you can go to get more information. Take care, and we'll see you next time.