All citizens driving through Durango are being watched and surveilled by the Durango Police Department’s Flock Safety cameras installed at 21 locations. These cameras record every license plate and all details of the vehicles passing by. It is easy to access and search the data collected as cause or warrants are not needed.
Our collected data is not safe with the DPD. This is not because of their policies; it is the nature of mass data collection without regulation. DPD deletes it in 30 days, but Flock has it saved in the Cloud. Flock is a private, for-profit company and data is a valuable commodity, which they own regardless of contracts.
The DPD’s expectation that other agencies who can access our data will respect the DPD’s requests and uphold Colorado law regarding use of data by federal agencies is naive. The use of the data will be untraceable to the DPD once it is in the Cloud. Therefore, controlling its use is not possible.
Does mass data collection on all citizens and sharing it indiscriminately with a for profit private, unregulated company appeal to you?
If not, please request City Council and the DPD to not renew their contract with Flock Safety in January.
Linda Walsh
Durango
