Huntington residents raise privacy concerns as City Council prepares to consider Flock camera rules

Our Take

Credit to WOWK 13 News for capturing what so many cities get backwards: the public hearing comes after the contract is signed, not before. Huntington's council already voted 6-4 in July to bring in Flock Safety's full suite — plate readers, live video, audio detection, and drones — and only now is anyone writing down rules for how it gets used. That's the pattern we see nationwide: approve the tech, worry about guardrails later, and hope residents don't notice the gap.

The audio detection and drone pieces here deserve extra scrutiny. License plate readers alone already build a rolling log of where everyone drives, but add acoustic sensors and aerial drones into the mix and you've got a surveillance net that can track sound, movement, and location without a warrant in sight. An ordinance can set retention limits and audit requirements on paper, but it won't un-ring the bell of eight-plus months of warrantless data collection that already happened before anyone drafted a policy.

Huntington residents showing up to speak at council are doing exactly what it takes to slow this down — public pressure is often the only check these systems get. Check our camera map to see what's already watching in your area, and if you want to push back on a Flock contract in your own town, our take-action page has the tools to get started.