BINGEN — The Bingen city council met on Oct. 17 and was presented the possibility of introducing Flock cameras to the Bingen area. Klickitat County Undersherrif Carmen Knopes was joined by Flock Community Engagement Manager Kristen MacLeod, as the two pitched the idea of mounting cameras at certain “choke points” throughout Klickitat County that would capture still images of the vehicle's license plates that travel in and out of the county.
“We started looking at some technology in order for us to better serve the citizens of Klickitat County when it comes to crime. As you know, the county is 1,900 square miles. And we only have on average three deputies per shift to cover that. We’re not exempt from crime,” Knopes said.
Knopes added that burglaries are on the rise and incoming traffic is also increasing. According to Knopes, each camera would cost $3,000 a year. This includes the Flock subscription service and would cover camera mounting, maintenance and any permitting necessary. Knopes said that 40 local agencies in the state of Washington own and operate these cameras.
Knopes assured that there is no facial recognition, and the cameras only capture still images of a vehicle's license plates and any other identifiable markings such as bumper stickers. The make, model and color of vehicle is also noted when an image or video is taken.
According to the presentation, Flock will only store a vehicle's information for 30 days, unless it is being used in an active instigation. Data will be transferred to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud with end-to-end encryption. MacLeod added that the footage would be owned by the city, county or purchaser and Flock will never sell the information.
An example of the Flock camera.
Photo courtesy Flock Safety
“We believe that we have the opportunity to utilize this technology to multiply the force and to capture and distribute objective data to the right user,” Macleod said. “We want to eliminate crime and create a safer future together.”
Flock cameras notify officers when a wanted vehicle passes by and offers a level of confidence on the accuracy of the photo or video. The system pulls records from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
The presentation was informational and councilors did not have to make a decision.
The KCSO is considering a trial period, and Knopes added they are going around to other city councils and county board of commissioners in Klickitat County to present the KCSO’s interest in establishing the cameras.
At the Oct. 3 meeting, council adopted the Shoreline Master Program with approval from the Washington Department of Ecology. Councilor Ryan O’Connor made a motion to adopt Resolution 2023-017 Adopting the Shoreline Master Program. Councilor Joseph O’Sullivan provided the second and the motion carried.
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