MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – Mount Pleasant police are working to address privacy concerns after one of the town’s 18 fixed Flock cameras was deliberately cut down over the weekend, highlighting growing skepticism about law enforcement’s use of automated license plate readers.
The Flock cameras, designed to help prevent and solve crime, have recently come under scrutiny, locally and nationally, after reports of police misusing the technology. Last week, a former Colleton County deputy was fired for conducting thousands of unauthorized Flock searches, fueling public concern about how the technology is being employed.
Assistant Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina, David Sella-Villa, explained that the cameras have become a visible symbol of the broader debate over data privacy. “There are very few outward symbols of having a lot of information shared about you and about people in your community,” Sella-Villa said. “And these cameras, for better or for worse, have become one such symbol.”…