Maumee Chief Addresses Flock Camera Use & Data

Our Take

WTVG 13's segment gives Maumee Police Chief Josh Sprow a platform to make the standard case for Flock Safety's license plate readers: they solve crimes, they're a tool, trust us. That's the pitch departments give everywhere these cameras go up, and it's worth noting what's usually missing from these local news hits — specifics on retention periods, who else can query the data, and whether the department audits its own officers for misuse. "Addressing privacy concerns" in a two-minute TV segment isn't the same as actually answering them.

Credit to WTVG for covering the topic at all, since most local outlets just run Flock's press releases verbatim. But the format itself favors the department's framing — a chief in uniform explaining a system he chose to buy is not an adversarial interview, and viewers deserve more than reassurance. Maumee is a small city, but its camera network almost certainly feeds into state and regional sharing agreements that extend well past city limits, meaning your plate data can travel far beyond what any local chief controls.

If you live near Maumee or anywhere else in Ohio, check our camera map to see what's actually tracking you, and visit our take-action page if you want to push your city council for real transparency instead of a reassuring soundbite.