Walker County Votes to Remove Flock Cameras From County Roads

Walker County has voted to pull Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers off its roads, becoming one of the first county governments in Alabama to act against a technology that has drawn intense scrutiny nationally over the last several months.

The Walker County Commission approved a resolution Tuesday titled "Revocation of General Use Contract and/or Privilege for Automated License Plate Readers," which gives 30 days for the removal of all license plate readers from county rights-of-way and county property.

In its summary of the meeting, the commission said the resolution bars Flock cameras and similar devices from county highways and properties. It does not affect municipalities inside Walker County, which set their own policies.

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The vote comes as license plate readers face growing resistance in Alabama and across the country.

Florida's transportation department moved last month to revoke permits for plate readers on state highway rights-of-way and ordered them removed within 30 days, and in Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott has ordered law enforcement agencies to stop spending money on them.

Alabama lawmakers have signaled they intend to take up the issue early in the next legislative session, with State Sen. Arthur Orr describing three possible paths: leaving the current system alone, imposing stronger restrictions on the cameras and their data, or banning them outright.

Here in Tuscaloosa County, the cameras are common. When the Thread looked at the network in April, more than 50 Flock devices were in place countywide, installed by a mix of law enforcement agencies, businesses and homeowners associations. Tuscaloosa Police use them across the city, and private camera owners routinely share footage with investigators.

That April story followed a fatal hit-and-run in Northport, where a Flock camera helped identify the vehicle involved and led to an arrest that probably would not have been possible without it.

Local opposition has surfaced since. Two Flock cameras were found damaged in Tuscaloosa County in August, one in the northern part of the county and one in the west. A sheriff's investigator said the vandalism seemed like targeted attacks on the camera systems.

For more exclusive coverage of community news in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.