You don’t see the Flock camera in this photo, taken Thursday afternoon, because it is no longer there.
Albany’s only Flock Safety license plate reader used to be mounted on a light pole on the northwest corner of Ellsworth Street and First Avenue. Now it’s gone. Somebody apparently swiped it.
The camera recorded cars passing by on Ellsworth Street and stored the information for 30 days. The police department disabled the device on Feb. 26, the day after the city council voted to suspend its use over concerns of access to the data by federal agencies.
“We are not sure who removed it but [it] was removed without permission,” Police Chief Marcia Harnden said this morning.
She said the police have good security camera footage of the location and will review it.
“Since we had to disable it, it made it vulnerable to tampering,” the chief said in an email. “Flock will be sending us a replacement in the meantime. If we can identify who removed it, they will likely be charged with a felony crime.”
Albany police used part of a state grant last year to contract for four Flock cameras at $14,000 a year. One was installed, and the police planned to deploy the others near main shopping areas. But that had not yet happened when the Ellsworth camera was shut down.
The city council voted merely to suspend the use of the Ellsworth camera, not to end it. Members had become concerned after the Portland Law Center, a legal aid organization, had told the legislature that federal agencies had accessed Flock camera data.
Councilwoman Steph Newton told me last week the Law Center had been invited to come brief the council and is scheduled to do so on April 20. The council then may decide whether to resume or end the camera’s use. (hh)
This is where the Flock camera was mounted before it disappeared. (Photo taken Nov. 26, 2025)
There’s sort of a keystone cops element to Albany’s forays into photo-related law-enforcement activities.
You are right. There is definitely a “Keystone Cop” element to a lot of the governing and policing of Albany.
There are arguments against observation and monitoring of the public. Maybe you are living on the edge of the law and you don’t want to be located. But the other side of the coin is public safety. When modern law enforcement tools are removed then everyone becomes less safe. Maybe you never pay for that in your life. But the easier it is for criminals the worse it is for the safety-seeking public and the more likely you will pay with your property or life. I hope you all enjoy blocking the law from doing its job
“Members had become concerned after the Portland Law Center, a legal aid organization, had told the legislature that federal agencies had accessed Flock camera data.”
In what capacity? Or did anyone even bother to ask that or did they simply clutch their pearls because someone in Portland told them how to think?
Why don’t you watch the recording of the meeting and find out for yourself?
THEY STOLE IT & MOUNTED IT ON WATER STREET TO LOOK FOR THE FOOLS
THAT SPENT 22 MILLION ON THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD….OH MY..
It was still a crime to steal cameras belonging to someone else no matter how paranoid you might be about the government
I was forbidden to post about this
Who forbid you?
It missed a doozy of an accident this am.
Could someone climb a “camera pole” and tap into the City’s computer system via any of their cameras, Flock or red light/speeding?
After seeing their performance on the last 2 utility software fiascos (yes kids, it happened on the previous “upgrade” a couple decades before) one doesn’t have much confidence in their ability on anything COMPUTER.
Do you actually know that for a fact or is there a VCR still in your house blinking 12:00? I feel like the latter is more likely.
A coupe of truisms come to mind:
“Only the paranoid survive” and “Just because I can’t see them, doesn’t mean they’re not out there…”
Ray, also add “just because you are paranoid, doesn’t mean they are not trying to get you.”
Since it is a flock camera maybe it is a hybrid drone and once disengaged flew home lol. Anymore a high school kiddo could hack almost any system. Complacency has made many fall victim to online identity theft and financial scams. Technology has advanced way beyond most peoples ability to comprehend what it is capable of causing. People are very wise that question the use of invasive information gathering.