Cohen says Roanoke's Flock cameras should be removed
Independent candidate for Roanoke City Council and chair of the Roanoke Gun Violence Prevention Commission
“I took a lot of time to investigate them and I came to the conclusion that no city should have these cameras. We are simply not ready for them. We do not have laws for them. We are a society that is moving towards surveillance, Ring cameras, Blink cameras, everything else. And we need to figure out as a society how we're going to handle that. But I would like to see these cameras removed. I don't think that they increase public safety.”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Roanoke Rambler transcript of a community forum at Melrose Library where Roanoke City Council candidates answered audience questions, including one on Flock cameras and the Raven gunshot detection program.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
At a Roanoke Rambler community forum at Melrose Library, an audience member asked City Council candidates whether they would work to permanently remove the company behind the city's Flock cameras and Raven gunshot detection program. Cohen said that as chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Commission she had received a private police briefing on the cameras.
After the quotation
Cohen added that the city should take more time rather than rushing to a decision when it is offered a grant.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Should Flock-style license-plate surveillance networks exist?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Cohen said she concluded no city should have these cameras and that she would like to see them removed from Roanoke. That is a call to remove the cameras, so Condemned fits, even though she also described society's wider questions about surveillance.
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- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Flock Safety
Should Flock-style license-plate surveillance networks exist?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
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