KINGSTON – Ulster County will be looking at establishing a policy governing the use, access, retention, disclosure, and sharing of data collected by automated license plate readers through Flock Safety Systems.

Legislator Abe Uchitelle said the initially proposed measure needs tweaking.

“I have concerns about what the county is currently doing in terms of collecting data and this legislation,” he said, noting the resolution calls for an annual audit of Flock. “And to my knowledge, we don’t have a contract with Flock, so I don’t know what this resolve actually does.”

The county legislature’s Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee will take a deep dive into the proposal at next month’s session.

The cities of Poughkeepsie and Newburgh are among the local communities looking at getting rid of that technology because it has the potential of sharing data with outside agencies.

Meanwhile, Legislator Richard Walls, a career law enforcement professional, said those street cameras do gather vital information to solve crimes and that should be taken into consideration before any ban is entertained.



Original article