Warrenville residents raise privacy concerns over Flock cameras

WARRENVILLE, Ill. - Warrenville residents are pushing back against the city’s use of Flock license plate reader cameras, raising questions about privacy, data access and oversight.

Flock cameras in Warrenville 

The backstory:

The issue came up during public comment at Monday night’s City Council meeting, even though the Flock camera program was not on the meeting agenda.

Warrenville has 14 Flock cameras and has used the license plate reader technology since 2022. The city council approved additional cameras in 2023.

The cameras capture still images of vehicles as they pass, including the license plate, make, model and color of the vehicle, along with information about when and where the image was captured.

That information can then be searched by authorized members of law enforcement.

According to the city of Warrenville's website, the cameras are used by law enforcement when investigating a crime and investigators have specific vehicle information relevant to the case. They can also be used in searches involving a missing or endangered person.

Images are stored for 30 days before they are deleted.

But some residents are calling on the city to end the program, questioning how much information is being collected, who outside the city may have access to it and whether there is enough transparency and oversight.

What's next:

Fox Chicago also reached out to Flock Safety, the company behind the cameras, with questions about who owns the data, who can access it and how long information is retained.

Fox Chicago did not receive a response.