Brian Strickland says Flock cameras should not be eliminated
Georgia state senator (R) and Republican nominee for Georgia attorney general
“Flock cameras are an amazing tool for law enforcement as long as they're not abused. You're starting to see law enforcement agencies and the industry itself that provides the cameras come forward and say, "Here's some protections. Here's how we can put parameters around these." It's important that every agency has someone looking over the shoulder of everyone that's [using] Flock cameras. If we do that right, they continue to be a great tool. I do not believe that we should just eliminate them, because this is such a huge tool that now we can use to neatly find people. And so many lives you don't even hear about are saved. So we want to make sure, while having concerns about how we balance this, we don't get rid of them. But it could be necessary to have a state law to make sure we have these minimum standards statewide.”
Source and context
Interview
About this source
Question-and-answer interview with Brian Strickland published by The Red & Black, the independent student newspaper at the University of Georgia; the paper says answers were edited for clarity.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
In a Q&A with The Red & Black, edited for clarity by the paper, Strickland was asked how he would balance police tools such as automatic license plate readers against concerns about government surveillance and privacy.
After the quotation
Strickland said that as attorney general he would work with the legislature on any state law and with local agencies on uniform procedures so the cameras are not abused.
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 readers such as Flock should exist and be used. Strickland calls Flock cameras an amazing tool, says they should not be eliminated, and is open only to statewide minimum standards against abuse. That is support for keeping the system with oversight, so we used Defended or excused, as with other candidates who back regulation but oppose a ban.
- Recorded on
- 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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