#flock-safety

#flock-safety

All of Mountain View's license plate cameras are being disabled, effective immediately, Police Chief Mike Canfield announced Monday afternoon. The move comes in the wake of the police department's disclosure last week that hundreds of law enforcement agencies had accessed the sensitive data in violation of the city's policies for over a year. The cameras will remain turned off until further direction is provided by the Mountain View City Council,

The city will stick with a surveillance company that scans license plates to help law enforcement catch criminal suspects, a dramatic reversal of an earlier vote that had rejected the firm's new $2 million contract. The company, Flock Safety, will maintain an existing network of 300 cameras to monitor the city's busiest streets and local state highways for up to two years while the Oakland Police Department conducts a competitive search for a long-term vendor.

According to Flock's announcement, its Ring partnership allows local law enforcement members to use Flock software "to send a direct post in the Ring Neighbors app with details about the investigation and request voluntary assistance." Requests must include "specific location and timeframe of the incident, a unique investigation code, and details about what is being investigated," and users can look at the requests anonymously, Flock said.