Contrary to what multiple city leaders have claimed in response to requests by Durango residents that Flock cameras be removed from our city, this is not a simple choice between public safety or privacy. Mass surveillance on its own poses a threat to public safety.
Especially in a political context where immigrants are being targeted by federal agents without cause, pregnant and transgender people are having to cross state lines to access health care, and the federal government is compiling lists of Americans who oppose U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and adhere to “radical gender ideology,” these law enforcement data sharing programs are ripe for abuse.
It is naive to assume that under these conditions it is no big deal to give up our privacy as long as it solves crime. What crimes could be worse than the violence we have seen perpetrated every day across this country by federal agents with an endless budget and no regard for basic human rights?
I am not as concerned as Chief Current is that criminals will converge on our city if the Durango Police Department ends its contract with Flock Safety and removes these cameras, not when we face much greater threats to our safety at the hands of our own government.
End the contracts. Remove the cameras. Stop sharing our data.
Emily Miller
Durango
