Covington County Sheriff Blake Turman is defending the use of Flock cameras in Alabama, but is also willing to address concerns from citizens in his county.
The license plate reader cameras have received new scrutiny across the country in recent weeks following several cases of law enforcement abusing the technology.
“Flock cameras seem to be the topic lately,” Turman said on Facebook.” Are they good or bad? I believe they have a good purpose when they are used as intended.”
The Sheriff admitted that there are some privacy concerns with the technology, but argued there is great amount of positive uses for the cameras.
“Technology is a tool. Information is a tool. Neither replaces good police work, common sense, accountability, or our Constitution.
I believe we can use modern technology to find a missing child, locate a stolen vehicle, or help solve a serious crime without giving up the freedoms we are sworn to protect,” he said. “The key isn’t simply whether we have the technology. The key is how we use it.”
Turman received some backlash from Alabamians who believe the use of Flock cameras will be abused by law enforcement.
“Even if Flock cameras are deployed with genuine good intentions and the present operators handle the information responsibly, the system itself creates a durable capability that future decision-makers—unconstrained by the same values—could readily exploit, leaving the public with effectively no privacy,” read one of the comments to the social media post.
The contentious issue will most likely come up in the next session of the Alabama Legislature.
“You know, that’s certainly going to be a conversation,” State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity) said. “And we’ll see what unfolds between now and session, but we are going to look at every available option and avenue before us to protect the rights of American citizens in Alabama.”
Turman also responded to some of the pushback he saw over his defense of the cameras.
“I can see from the response to my Flock camera post that this issue has disturbed a lot of folks. I hear you, and I have no problem reconsidering their use if the people we serve believe the concerns outweigh the public-safety benefit,” he explained. “But I think this conversation is bigger than Flock cameras. Law enforcement uses technology every day to protect people, solve crimes, find missing persons and hold our own officers accountable.”
“What about body cameras and patrol-car cameras? They record traffic stops, arrests and everyday encounters with citizens,” he added. “We use that video as evidence, to determine what actually happened and to investigate complaints against officers. What about surveillance video from a business that captures a robbery? A homeowner’s Ring camera that records a burglar? Cell-phone location information obtained through proper legal authority to locate someone? Technology used lawfully to help recover stolen property? If our concern is that technology could be abused, then we have to acknowledge that nearly all of these tools could be abused.”
He is now asking for more feedback from residents.
“So I’m asking sincerely: Where should that line be? This shouldn’t be law enforcement versus the public,” he said. “We serve the public. Let’s have the conversation together and decide what responsible use of technology should look like while protecting both public safety and individual liberty.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
