GREENSBORO, N.C. — At Tuesday night's city council meeting, councilmembers voted to approve installation of 15 more Flock safety cameras. It's the second round of cameras installed in the city over the last year. Greensboro put up the first ten in October 2021.
The cameras take pictures of car license plates. The information can help lead police to suspects or identify stolen. The city said the cameras do not have facial recognition technology.
Tuesday's vote pertained to the locations of the Flock cameras. The city said it had already purchased the 15 new cameras, but it needed to hold a vote on the proposed locations. GPD and the city chose the locations based on crime data as well as input from the transportation department.
The Greensboro Police Department said the cameras have worked well since their installation. Interim Chief Teresa Biffle spoke about the success during Tuesday's city council meeting.
"When a crime does occur, the Flock company does have an agreement and has access to NCID. So if you have a stolen vehicle through another jurisdiction, that's automatically entered," Interim Chief Biffle said, "We're able to be alerted if the vehicle is in an area. We have had success stories. We are working on getting together all those success stories to get the information out there."
At least one success story involves a robbery at the Circle K on Pleasant Garden Road. Greensboro police said they arrested two people charged in connection to the robbery thanks in part to the cameras.
In an interview prior to the city council vote, councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter said she thinks the cameras have worked well and supports installing more.
"It's a great way to reduce crime in Greensboro," Abuzuaiter said, "I believe it gives officers another tool and also gives the citizens a feeling of feeling more safe in their neighborhoods."
Gene Blackmon, a self-described community activist and business owner in the area where the cameras are set to be installed, said the cameras could be a good thing if used correctly.
"I do think that it's a positive or that it can be a positive thing," Blackmon said, "I also do think it could be a problem if not handled properly. It could lead to over-policing and harassment, and that would be a concern of mine. If used correctly, it could definitely be a positive thing."
Interim Chief Biffle said neighborhoods and apartment complexes have ordered their own Flock cameras, believing that the technology works. The city said it can partner with those groups to create an even larger camera network.
Earlier this year, Winston-Salem discussed installing their own Flock safety cameras. Winston-Salem Police is testing out 25 of them in a year-long trial program. The city will decide at a later date whether to make the cameras a permanent fixture around town.