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Issue tracker
Compare sourced statements from candidates and officials in Rhode Island on license-plate camera networks.
This tracker covers fixed camera networks that log passing vehicles and let agencies search their movements. A warrant rule, a funding pause or a shorter retention period is not the same as a ban, so each statement is placed on the specific remedy the speaker supports. Each position names its speaker and links its source.
Bristol town councilor (D) running for reelection
Guardrails, keep using
Our council did pass this. I voted against it, but our council did pass the most stringent ordinance in Rhode Island. Warwick did have an ordinance in place before us, so they were there first. The problem is that the Flock cameras we installed here are not Flock cameras owned by us. The state owns the Flock cameras installed here, and the state manages the database. We have no control over how they’re using that database. That was what concerned me most: Whatever is happening over there, we have absolutely no oversight over what they can do with it. So one way to address that is state legislation. If state legislation can address that, then we might be in a better spot with a regulatory framework to ensure that type of system isn’t misused.
Bristol Town Councilor Aaron Ley said he voted against the Flock camera because the state owns it and manages its database without local oversight, and that state legislation could create a framework against misuse.
1
End the network
Ban the cameras or cancel the contract.
5
Restrict it
Cut funding, pause, require warrants, or limit how data is kept and shared.
3
Keep using it
Defend current use as an investigative tool.
9 statements from officials and candidates are counted in Rhode Island.
Races where more than one candidate has a recorded position, ordered by how far apart the candidates are on the steps above.
Then-Providence Mayor Brett Smiley supported keeping the city's license-plate readers, saying they had helped solve crimes and that he was satisfied with existing data-sharing agreements and audits.
Providence mayoral candidate David Morales pledged to cancel the city's Flock contract, citing alleged violations of state law and local data-sharing agreements.
Bristol Town Councilor Tony Teixeira said he voted for the Flock camera and would do it again, citing police searches for missing or abducted people, and said it is one camera at the bridge approved with parameters.
Bristol Town Council Chairman Nathan Calouro said the Flock camera makes sense if it helps police find and bring back abducted family members, and said Bristol adopted an ordinance and police policy for it.
Bristol Town Councilor Aaron Ley said he voted against the Flock camera because the state owns it and manages its database without local oversight, and that state legislation could create a framework against misuse.
Each statement is placed on the strongest remedy the speaker firmly supports. When a speaker offers alternatives, such as a ban or tighter regulation, the statement is placed on the milder one. A placement describes that statement alone. It does not summarize everything the speaker has said.
Criticism of misuse is not, by itself, a call to end the cameras. Statements that criticize the systems without naming a remedy are listed separately. Companies, advocacy groups and researchers appear for reference and are not counted in the totals.
A candidate or official with no statement on record has no position here. Address results match statewide offices, the U.S. House district, state legislative districts, and city or county offices for the address you enter.
These tracker downloads are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit The Dispute Index, link to this tracker and the license, and note any changes. The license covers the downloaded compilation and DI position labels. Case pages, other site text and linked source material have separate rights.
Each camera statement keeps its own remedy label. An empty position means the statement has not been placed. Statements without a specific remedy are labeled separately.
The generation time records when this data snapshot was prepared. For votes, date records the vote date and as_of records the tracker date. For statements, date records when the statement occurred and as_of records when DI first published it. These dates do not mean every source was rechecked then. Empty fields mean the information is not included in this download. Count votes and statements separately; multiple statements can belong to the same person.
