During public comment at the Feb. 3 city council meeting, resident Alex Miller expressed deep concern over the city’s 2024 leasing of equipment from Flock Safety, a security apparatus company based in Atlanta, Ga., selling cameras, license plate readers, public microphones and other technologies.

Miller said Flock is just one company building a mass-surveillance network in the country and cited a senate investigation indicating law enforcement agents may use simple key words to search for anyone on the street for reasons generic as “crime” or “protest.”

“You can now Google someone’s car, bike or appearance,” he said, giving his own attire as an example, “for any reason at all.”

He cited a senate investigation that found Flock lied to customers about working with the Department of Homeland Security. “ICE has already been to Bethlehem, and just today we found out DHS has purchased two warehouses in Hamburg and Schuylkill Haven, probably to house human beings.”

Miller said agencies are being encouraged to be vague in searches on residents and that Flock’s systems are deeply vulnerable to outside access, with investigators allegedly able to hack cameras and spy on themselves – according to some sources the cameras offer enough clarity that a criminal could observe someone typing the number on a security keypad to their own home.

404 Media and the American Civil Liberties Union are warning against Flock’s vulnerabilities and excesses and the public release of data, and the police chief of Palo Alto, Calif., last month turned the city’s Flock plate readers off when he learned federal agencies had accessed the data without the department’s permission or knowledge.

Miller quoted investigating Oregon Sen. Ron Widen. “In my view, local elected officials can best protect their constituents from the inevitable abuses of Flock cameras by removing Flock from their communities.”

Councilmember Hillary Kwiatek called on Police Chief Michelle Kott to respond to Miller.

“We are the sole owners of the data and we do not put it on any open-source website available to the public,” Kott said. “I am aware of what transpired – some police departments for one reason or another decided to release all of that information unredacted. It makes no sense, I can’t speak to why they would do that, but that did indeed happen. That’s something we are not in the practice of.”

“Flock doesn’t have a right to take our license plat reader data and use it or sell it,” Kwiatek asked. “Correct. We contract with Genetec for our cameras, we do not have any Flock cameras, only Flock automated license plate readers.” She said a reader will record a passing plate and hold the images for 90 days, to the best of her recollection during the meeting, and that the city is not using the Flock Falcon cameras used in other jurisdictions.

Kwiatek said many residents are hearing the news about local DHS warehouse purchases with alarm and anger, and many said as much at a Jan. 30 gathering. “Our city and our valley are full of really good people who care want to protect their neighbors and do the right thing. I couldn’t believe there were 400 people in this room and I want to thank everyone who came out.”

Council President Rachel Leon announced that meeting minutes will now be more condensed because the livestream of meetings are archived as public record and are available for public viewing any time at youtube.com/@cityofbethlehemcouncil9913.

The next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 17 at city hall.