Jennie Robinson
Role at the time: Huntsville City Council president running for reelection in District 3
Defended or excused
Statement summary
Jennie Robinson said license-plate readers are a valid law-enforcement tool that has helped solve crimes, and that users need to be trained, authorized and held accountable.
“I think license plate readers are a valid law enforcement tool. We’ve seen it because they have helped us. I know there was a double murder in Tuscaloosa that our license plate readers in Huntsville helped solve and could list a number of other ways they have been used. They’re a law enforcement tool that needs to be used like every other law enforcement tool we have. You need to be trained, you need to be authorized to use it, and you need to be held accountable for that use. We need, so we need those guardrails in place.”
Open the original interview (opens in a new tab)Robinson, Peinder talk growth, Flock cameras and priorities ahead of District 3 runoffQuestion on Flock: 'What should the city do with the system'
Why we used this label
The reference point is whether networked license-plate readers such as Flock should exist and be used. Robinson calls license-plate readers a valid law-enforcement tool that has helped solve crimes and says they should be used like other tools, with training, authorization and accountability. Supporting continued use with ordinary guardrails, as comparable statements are labeled, is Defended or excused.