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Posted on 08/27/2026 2:36:25 PM PDT by lightman
FRANKLIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — In a unanimous vote, the Franklin County Commissioners voted against renewing the county's contract with Flock Safety amid ongoing concerns over its use of automated license plate reader cameras (LPR).
Commissioner Dean Horst said he, personally, has an issue with Flock in the database area in particular, despite moves to reduce the amount of time the data is kept from 30 days to seven days.
"I think we're at the point now to where the lack of public trust in the system really concerns me, for us to stay in this conversation much longer," Horst said.
Horst said he doesn't expect LPR cameras to go away, but he felt compelled to either help set the guardrails or leave the decision in the hands of state and federal lawmakers. He acknowledged it's difficult to determine what degree of guardrails are suitable.
"I believe our sheriff's contract with Flock imposes a legal liability on the county taxpayers. Our solicitor has affirmed that concern," Robert Ziobrowski, who serves as the Secretary of the Franklin County Commissioners' Office. "The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, otherwise known as HIPAA, impose strict guidelines on when and how personal health information can be released.
One of the commissioners said Attorney General Dave Sunday is prosecuting someone for a HIPAA violation.
Until there are HIPAA-type guidelines for Flock data, codified in state and federal law, I cannot support renewal of the county contract for sharing of Flock data with private entities.
Despite high trust expressed by the county surrounding Sheriff Benjamin Sites, the commission expressed concerns the system could easily be abused by whoever eventually replaces him.
"I completely trust Sheriff Ben Sites with anything... the next guy comes along can abuse the system. The fact is it's able to be abused. I have a problem with that," vice-chair John Flannery said.
Some members of law enforcement appeared not to share the same sentiments as the commissioners in the meeting.
"I understand where you're coming from," said Chief Deputy Dan Foy with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. "But from a public safety perspective, I just hope no one gets raped in this county. No one gets murdered in this county. And it's anyone's family we know. I hope it's no one. But if that happens, I hope law enforcement can quickly catch these people without this technology.
With the contract set to expire in roughly 30 days, Flannery suggested if he had known the repercussions of voting in favor the first time, he would have hesitated.
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Franklin County is on the Maryland border bisected by I-81.
Liberty versus "safety". Where have we heard that balance before?
Expecting privacy in a public location is kinda like believing in the Easter Bunny. Neither are real.
Good.
They can already track your car and send your information to your insurance companies. Really most of this tracking/spying by private business or the government should be banned
This is purely a move by the communists because they don’t control the flock information. Once they’ve got control of the cities, rest assured it’ll be back, stronger than ever.
By Matthew Duckworth
C'mon, Matthew! You could have had so much fun with the headline!
""Franklin County votes to sever ties with the Flockers.""
escapefromboston wrote: “They can already track your car and send your information to your insurance companies. Really most of this tracking/spying by private business or the government should be banned.”
They don’t need flock cameras, your car automatically updates far more data including driving habits like speed, hard braking, and rapid acceleration. This data is routinely analyzed and sent to insurance companies. Flock cameras are a very cumbersome way to obtain this data that your car routinely provides.
As a retired LEO I say bravo. If I wanted to be spied on 24-7, I’d move to Great Britain. Yes, I know we are being watched, but why makes matters even worse.
Privacy in public and being stalked by cameras that are recording all activity, not just plates, and keeping it in a data base is another story.
One camera isn’t an issue on paper. 30 cameras are enough to track you.
and before you say it’s not happening and no one cares about me, while that may be true about me, there are plenty of women being stalked and harassed via flock cameras.
By recording my plate, the local nazis can link the car to me via registration and keep that in a database.
That's right. For thousands of years, nations have built jails and prisons, but they were always empty until Flock arrived.
This will go the way of yellow light cameras that will input a computer that will send you a summons. They lowered the times the lights would change so they could send out more tickets. Bastards. Thankfully they have been outlawed in most states. It is no business of anyone especially a Nazi like gov. where I go and when, Invasion of privacy run amok.
“I just hope no one gets raped in this county.”
LOL! Where Flock cameras are and have been, not one rape has occurred. 🙄😵💫
Seems like an easy issue for a politician to run on and get votes since no one likes to be spied on.
Exactly. LEO today make you think no crime has ever been solved before Flock cameras.
Can you imagine a nightmare scenario where you receive a letter which states,
“Dear Mr. Omnivore-Dan:
Our FLOCK cameras recorded your vehicle’s license plate at Burger King more than ten times in the last month.
This is way too often. Therefore, your health insurance has been cancelled.
Sincerely,
Big Brother”
Get the FLOCK out of our states!
...so they can be released.
The Co. should be renamed to: “Flock Your Privacy”....
“Franklin County tells camera company ‘Flock off’”
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