The Albany City Council wants to hear from people about the use of Flock license plate readers before deciding whether to allow the police department to use the cameras.
But what the council eventually decides may not keep Flock cameras out of Albany. Cameras of this type are already deployed in town and, if they prove useful, may become more widespread among private parties.
Lowe’s Home Improvement Center has mounted three Flock cameras on poles at its parking lot entrances, two on Oak Street and one on Ninth Avenue. The cameras look just like the license plate reader the police department had put up at First Avenue and Ellsworth Street last year…