The superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police is expected to give Gov. Dan McKee new recommendations Monday on how cities and towns should use automated license plate reading cameras.
The question is: what happens next?
At least 300 so-called Flock cameras are installed across Rhode Island. They record identifying details of every car that drives past. But the state has no uniform rules on who gets to see that data, how long it's kept, or what it can be used for.
McKee ordered the review in August, ahead of the primary, after a wave of complaints from residents worried about their privacy. He called for a pause on the new installation of cameras – though not on operating existing ones – and gave state police 60 days to come up with uniform statewide standards.
"We have to solve crimes. We also have to protect people's privacy," McKee said at the time. "Those two things are not mutually exclusive. That's why I called for a pause and ordered a full 60-day review."
"People all over the state are asking about Flock cameras," McKee said in a campaign ad. “And I have questions too."
Now the answers are due, but McKee is a lame duck. It's not clear who will act on them or whether they may change again.
‘You are lying to me’
Local lawmakers across the state have been getting an earful on the Flock camera issue.
For instance, this past summer in Tiverton, resident Ivy Hall demanded to know who has access to the data the town's cameras collect. She told the council she filed three requests under the state's public records law and still hasn't gotten a straight answer.
"This is now my third FOIA request," Hall said. "I had asked for the current Flock contract. What I was provided with was an expired quote."
Town solicitor Michael Marcello pushed back.
"You have been provided with all the documents we have," he said. "We have been responsive."
"You are lying to me," Hall replied.
"Please don't accuse me of lying," Marcello said.
"Well, you are," Hall said. "I asked for the contract; you provided an expired quote. You are insulting my intelligence."
Marcello told her she was welcome to appeal to the Rhode Island Attorney General's office. She said she would.
Scenes like that one have played out in council chambers across the state, leading several towns to cancel their contracts. Among them: South Kingstown, Narragansett and Glocester. The Tiverton Town Council voted in July to approve four additional cameras.
Providence isn't waiting
Providence hosts at least 60 cameras, the most of any municipality in the state. On Thursday, the Providence City Council voted unanimously to advance a proposal that would end the city's contract with Flock.
Mayor Brett Smiley insists the devices have been helpful in solving some major crimes, including last year’s Brown University campus shooting. He has fought to preserve the program.
But his likely successor, Democratic nominee David Morales, wants to eliminate the cameras as soon as possible.
"It is possible that the city council will be pulling the plug even before I take office," Morales said.
"So I'm going to be monitoring that closely and then working with the city council to consult with them, hear their thoughts in case it does not get canceled before January."
The candidates for governor
Statewide, it’s a different story.
Democrat Helena Foulkes, the frontrunner, told a recent Ocean State Media forum she shares people's concerns about potential misuse but wants more time to study the issue.
"I support the idea of a 45-day pause on Flock cameras," Foulkes said. "I think there are a lot of questions and concerns."
She also made the case for the other side.
"I think there are a lot of reasons to be very skeptical," she said. "On the other hand, Flock cameras have also been helpful to the police in solving some really difficult crimes."
Her main rival, independent Ken Block, put it more bluntly.
"I hate Flock cameras. I don't like them. I wish that we didn't have them," Block said. "We should regulate them pretty heavily, and other states have."
Whoever wins the governor's race in November will inherit the state police recommendations and the fight over what to do with them.
