In April 2023, the city entered into an agreement with Flock camera system for 30 license plate reader cameras (Attachment 2) via Resolution 2023-031 (Attachment 3). Twenty-four (24) of those cameras being “Falcon” pole mounted cameras and 6 being “Wing” style cameras. Wing style cameras use existing camera systems rather than being a newly installed camera on poles like the Falcon cameras. The wing cameras were added to the existing six locations where the city in 2017 placed perimeter cameras at various entry/exit point in and out of the Village.
Shortly after installing the Flock cameras, several community members raised concerns about the cameras. In July 2023, The City Council created an Ad Hoc Committee, comprised of Councilmember Alissandra Dramov and then Councilmember Bobby Richards. During 2024, several Ad Hoc Committee meetings were held and the concerns raised focused on four specific concerns.
- Privacy: How do we protect the community’s personal data (license plate information) from a cloud-based system owned and managed by a corporation?
- Number of Cameras: Do we need 30 cameras in Carmel-by-the-Sea? What is an appropriate number?
-
Aesthetic: Can we change the look, size, location of the cameras to lessen the visual impact on our village?
- Expense vs Safety: What is the cost of the cameras and how do we better manage the cost while improving safety?
Privacy:
The camera records license plates and the storage are via a cloud-based storage system. Flock does not have the ability to obtain registration or owner information from license plates. This type of information is obtained by the Police Department. Flock does not have the ability to access any local, state, or federal systems.
For example: If the Police Department is doing an investigation and searching for a vehicle, we enter the license plate into the system as a search. If we receive a match, we run the vehicle through our various databases to confirm it is the wanted vehicle, before acting. If another agency adds a license plate to the system, commonly referred to as a Hotlist, we receive a notification when that vehicle goes by one of our cameras. We then required to run that license plate through our database systems to confirm that we have the right vehicle. All data recorded by Carmel cameras is owned by Carmel and is never sold to 3rd parties.
Number of Cameras:
This number should be based on how safe we want to make the Village and at what cost. We could place a camera on each corner but that would be a lot of cameras and very expensive. Given our crime rates, we may not need 30 cameras. We have had six cameras on the perimeter of the City which have provided us with useful data for the prevention and capture of criminals. Having additional cameras in the downtown area and scattered throughout the residential area helps the Police track movement of wanted vehicles and prosecute cases against subjects who commit crimes by providing evidence they were in specific locations. The City Council should make the decision about how many cameras it would like to have with the input from the Chief of Police.
Aesthetic:
The look of the poles, size of the camera boxes, and solar panels take away from the view of scenery in the village. The cameras were placed in areas that have raised a lot of concern with some residents. There are options to consider with the Flock cameras, or any camera we use. These options include direct power to existing light poles, which would eliminate the need for additional poles and large solar panels. Like the perimeter cameras we installed in 2017, the city was able to negotiate with PG&E for use of their existing poles to mount our camera system. Should the City elect to install cameras downtown, we could work with PG&E to directly install the cameras to their existing light poles in specific areas downtown. This would eliminate the poles and solar panels making these cameras much less obtrusive.
Expense vs Safety:
The Falcon cameras (Pole) are $2500, and the Wing cameras (existing on our perimeter cameras) are $1500 each year. Our initial contract was for two years, with 24 Falcon cameras ($60,000) and 6 Wing cameras ($9000) per year. Year 1 cost the City $77,900 due to a one-time $8,900 for Implementation fees and the second year cost the city $69,000. We may see an increase due to inflation and a change in cost for the cameras in subsequent years, but these were the costs in 2023 when the City signed the contract. The City Council needs to decide how many cameras are needed and what expense we are willing to pay.
Options to Consider:
The Ad Hoc developed a series of options for Council to consider in their decision making for future use of the cameras.
1. Make no changes to the Flock Camera System: Our current contract which expires in April 2025, is a two-year agreement for 30 ALPR cameras, consisting of 24 Falcon cameras and 6 Wing cameras. If Council elects this option, the contract will automatically renew on March 30th.
2. Cancel the contract with Flock and remove all of the Flock cameras, leaving the city with the six 2017 perimeter cameras. Cancellation of modification of the contract is required prior to 30 days before the automatic renewal. Dependent on councils decision, written notification to terminate or amend the existing contract would need to be made prior to March 4, 2025.
3. Renegotiate a new contract with Flock with staff recommendations or modifications of staffs recommendation. Should council select this option, we would need to contact Flock no less than 30 days prior to the end of the existing contract and advise them of our intention to modify the existing contract.
4. Start over and research other companies that also provide this type of service. There are other camera systems we could explore. Consideration for this option should include the fact that almost all of our agency partners use the Flock camera system which creates a network of cameras that Carmel can use.
Recommendation from Staff:
It is the professional opinion of the Chief of Police that the Flock cameras are a benefit to the safety of the Village. Although our crime rates aren’t as high as some cities, we still have a history of significant crimes taking place and we remain a prime target for criminals who are looking to victimize both our residents and businesses. Our Village contains several high-end retail shops and vacant residences, both of which make us a desirable location for criminal activity. These cameras act as both a preventative precaution as well as a enforcement tool to deter and prosecute crime.
Cameras are a visual deterrent for criminals who are looking for easy targets. The use of the Flock cameras connects us to other peninsula cities, who use the Flock cameras. Being a part of this regional camera system has helped us multiple times in 2024, solve and prevent serious criminal activity in our village.
Being a part of a broader network of Flock cameras that can directly alert the officers in the field of a wanted vehicle helps us protect the Village. This greatly increases the ability of police officers to do their jobs of protecting the village. These cameras act as extra eyes for officers, essentially expanding the effectiveness of our police force without actually expanding our police force.
Flock has developed several safeguards for use with these cameras, including adding the Transparency Portal, which we have placed on our city webpage. The portal requires that any data retrieved from the Flock cameras is associated with an existing case. Random checks of license plates are not allowed and violate our City and Department use policy, which is also located on our city webpage along with Flock’s Policies.
Flock also does not run any license plates through any databases. Only Police Department officials can retrieve license plate data and run those plates through our database. Access to any license plate data is only though the Transparency portal and requires a case number be assigned as justification. This security of people’s personal information is far more secure with the Transparency portal than other operating systems.
The Flock cameras, even though we have only had a handful of them active, have helped us continue to protect this village despite the very low staffing numbers. The balance between Safety and Expense cannot adequately be provided with a certain number of cameras. The goal is to find a balance between a cost-effective way to improve the safety of the community, while addressing the issues of Aesthetics and Privacy for our village.
It is my recommendation that the City continue with the Flock Camera system, and adopt the Resolution (Attachment 1) which includes the following conditions:
1. Advise Flock of our intention to modify the existing contract to include the following.
- Keep the six wing cameras that have been integrated into our existing perimeter camera system.
2. Keep the option of adding 6-10 additional cameras during the term of the contract, once PG&E approval is obtained for installation on existing light poles in our business district. Payment of these additional cameras won’t begin until they are able to be installed on existing city light poles. Installing cameras on existing light poles greatly reduces the visual appearance while still providing the same security.
3. Incorporate a yearly Police Department Council report showing the use and effectiveness of the camera system. This data would help navigate potential changes to the camera system. It is suggested we incorporate the yearly report in with the already required yearly report of the use and acquisition of Military Equipment (AB481) and include other relevant police data for the public.
4. Work with Flock to ensure language preventing the sharing of personal data by Flock is clearly stated in the contract.
5. Have Flock clearly state in our contract language that any expansion of the system beyond our agreed upon terms to include the use of facial recognition must be approved by the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea prior to implementation.
During the past year, we have worked with Flock on one additional suggested condition for the village:
* Create an Opt-out program for residents to 'self-remove' from the system. The opt out means the person who opted out will not have their license plate data stored in the system.
Since presenting this option at our last Ad Hoc meeting, we have been in contact with Flock who have stated that this option would be problematic to implement for any city. Due to potential legal problems associated with this option we are no longer including it as a recommendation.