As the debate over the use of Flock cameras continues in Alabama and across the country, Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry defended them as a good tool for law enforcement, but said there need to be “strict policies” in place to prevent abuse by law enforcement.
The license plate reader cameras have received new scrutiny across the country in recent weeks following several cases of law enforcement using the technology for nefarious purposes.
Gentry, Republican currently running for Place 1 on the Alabama Public Service Commission, discussed the issue Thursday on on “The Rightside” with Allison Sinclair and Amie Beth Shaver, in partnership with Yellowhammer News.
“So I’m against tracking our citizens with government overreach, but it is a tool that can be used correctly with the right specifications,” Gentry said.
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Some state lawmakers have already called for them to be banned, while others have suggested that new guardrails need to be put in place so they can continue to be used.
“You know, if we have a child that’s kidnapped out of Birmingham, it is a good tool that if it’s coming up the interstate, and all of a sudden, bam! There’s that vehicle, and it notifies law enforcement to be able to respond.” Gentry said. “I think what we have to do is be careful with AI because we do not want anyone tracking this.”
Gentry admitted there are pros and cons with using these kinds of cameras, but said his main concern is creating a strong enough deterrent so it’s not taken advantage of by law enforcement.
“So, there is good things about Flock cameras, and there are bad things about Flock cameras,” he argued. “You have to have strict policies in place that doesn’t allow law enforcement to misuse it, just like our [FBI’s National Crime Information Center] or [Criminal Justice Information Services] stuff that we deal with today.
“And if they misuse it, then they need to be arrested for it.”
He also argued against using them as a “revenue producer.”
“I think what we need to do with the Legislature is make it really attached to violent felonies,” he said. “You don’t need to be tracking somebody’s got an expired tag. We need to really limit it, the government overreach, to violent felonies. You know, armed robberies, murders, kidnappings, those kind of things, and that’s my opinion. I mean, when we look at the violent felonies and how it can be used for them, it’s a good thing. I don’t think that it should be sending you a message saying Sinclair’s riding down the road and her tags expired.”
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
