A Flock camera keeps an eye on one of the two Oak Street driveways at Lowe’s on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
The Albany City Council wants to hear from people about the use of Flock license plate readers before deciding whether to allow the police department to use the cameras.
But what the council eventually decides may not keep Flock cameras out of Albany. Cameras of this type are already deployed in town and, if they prove useful, may become more widespread among private parties.
Lowe’s Home Improvement Center has mounted three Flock cameras on poles at its parking lot entrances, two on Oak Street and one on Ninth Avenue. The cameras look just like the license plate reader the police department had put up at First Avenue and Ellsworth Street last year.
The camera on First Avenue recorded all the vehicles that came off the Ellsworth Street bridge. The city council voted on Feb. 25 to suspend its use, and it was disabled the next day but left in place. Then someone stole it some time before March 19.
The police department has ordered a replacement, but the department already has three others that it had been waiting to deploy in busy retail centers.
On Wednesday, the city council voted against restarting the Flock camera program. Councilors Marilyn Smith and Ramycia McGhee wanted to restore that law enforcement tool. But Steph Newton, Carolyn McLeod, Chris Van Drimmelen and Michael Thomson voted “no.”
Van Drimmelen wanted to have some discussion first about where the cameras should be placed. The other three no voters said there should be some wider community discussion about the use of this technology before the police deploy it.
They talked about this public conversation happening in May or June. But it was not clear how or when it could take place, or who would make it happen.
Nobody mentioned that Flock technology is being used in Albany regardless of what the council decides. (hh)
This Flock camera is posted near the store’s driveway on Ninth Avenue.
Why is the Albany Council on the side of criminals, some violent? That is really the only question. What do I, a law-abiding citizen, care of my license plate is read? Any time a cop comes up behind me he can run my plates. They do it all the time. No probable cause needed to run plates any more than to photograph them from a light pole.
Kind of a slippery slope. First they just read my plates. Then they use them to find me in a crowd regardless of any criminal activity. Next thing you know they are looking for ways to take my car. Sounds a lot like a different argument that I know of. But that would never happen in the good ole’ USA…right? Hmm, think ICE and CBP. I never thought I would see masked thugs detaining American citizens either. And, remember, a criminal is only defined by the norms of society. And those norms reflect the current attitude of those in power at the time.
Flock cameras take only license plate reflections, correct?
Proper plate to vehicle info & Silver alert, child missing etc are tools not an invasion especially in a public space
If you actually believe it goes no further than that.
The DNA websites promise privacy, yet the govt. catches sex offenders through them. You may defend that use, but let’s face it. The govt. wants to have the ability to track you if it feels it wants to.
As computers get more powerful, the ability to track your daily movements will become child’s play.
Your rights are eroded, a bit at a time. You just don’t get that undone.
Here’s a quote lifted from yesterday’s Oregon Live story:
“The technology tracks more than license plates, including features such as car color, make or physical condition, and some researchers have found that its use can lead to misread plates or arrests of innocent individuals.”
Interesting article re: Senate Bill 1516. Check it out……
It is always amazing to this citizen how easily people are willing to give up their privacy to people in power in trade for what they perceive to be “safety.” The level of naivete this belief displays: that someone would willingly hand this kind of power over to police is stunning. These fools believe the police ALWAYS have citizen’s interests at heart, that police NEVER abuse their power. That the police are ALWAYS honest in their dealings with citizens. I understood that the current administration has either jailed or deported all the criminals. If that is true, certainly there is no ore need to spy on citizens. There is No Need to read my license plates.
Bring back the flock cameras in fact install more. Every day I’m out and about I see numerous cars with expired plates, some that are several years expired. Imagine the revenue collected would make ODOT jealous. (TLB) Roman’s 13.3-4
IF we had police actually patrolling, a whole lot of things could be rectified. You wouldn’t need cameras etc. Just seeing people pulled over on a regular basis gets the attention of most of us when it comes to violating traffic laws.
I do not see all the trouble.. we are talking about PUBLIC space, If I see you speeding at 94 mph on Pacific Blvd and turn you in to the Police, they give you a ticket are brought to Court and found guilty, charged with whatever and are held to account that is viewed as justice, if it is a camara that sees you???? the police write you a ticket the court fines you and that is different ……………………..how? Don’t want the ticket????????????? Don’t do 94mph on Pacific Blvd..
At the end of Commercial Way we had camaras, one was a license plate Camara, a few years ago, a guy stole a portable sawmill, his image was captured, we looked earlier in the day and found his vehicle, gave the info to the police, they traced the vehicle, they got a search warrant, went to the place and found the sawmill………….. the guy had spraypainted “not stolen” on the mill, was arrested, and adjudicated….. problem solved….
“….. If I see you speeding at 94 mph on Pacific Blvd and turn you in to the Police, they give you a ticket are brought to Court….”
They are going to give me a ticket on your say so? I doubt it.
Methinks his video surely would start a chain of evidence that could end in a conviction…
His “video” is his ALLEGED eye witness account. OTOH, he could say he saw you at 100.
I’ll take an actual video over any so-called “eyewitness” account any day…
Bill, i drive a Tesla, it has cameras all over that thing, a computer that says how fast you’re going where you’re going what direction you’re pointed etcetera.. i know, in the past a citizen could ask that someone be given a ticket and it would end up going to court.I don’t know what it’s like now. To be found guilty, you would still have to have evidence in court.Sometimes the evidence is how fast you were going while you\nObserve someone else going faster.
All of you on this thread are talking about red light cameras, when this post is about ALPR cameras. Not the same thing.
Name one person that mentioned RED LIGHT CAMERA
The duplicity amazing. “Take photos of law breakers and i am not a law breaker,” people say. Then say “why are my pictures being taken everywhere i go, and my gps in phone tracked and my search history snd email address and..,”
You still concerned with just your license plate?
Only if you don’t turn off the GPS and decide to use your phone for email.
Geez, yeah, I’ll take more government surveillance. What could possibly go wrong? Y’all do realize that there has been numerous PR instances of government officials misusing flocks data, right? Similar to Palantir. Let’s just continue handing over our constitutional rights without a fight. If you all think this is just about getting license plates, you’re sadly naive.