[00:00:03]
[Call to Order]
OF THE COMMUNITY POLICE OVERSIGHT BOARD, THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVE AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS.AS A DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY POLICE OVERSIGHT, I'M CALLING THE REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING OF THE CITY OF DALLAS COMMUNITY POLICE OVERSIGHT BOARD TO ORDER.
ON OCTOBER 13TH, THE COMMUNITY POLICE OVERSIGHT BOARD IS NOW IN SESSION DUE TO VACANCIES IN THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR POSITION.
THE BOARD MUST APPOINT A TEMPORARY CHAIR PER THE CITY CODE AND A TAX TEXAS OPEN MEETING ACT.
THIS MEMBER MUST BE PHYSICALLY PRESENT AND WILL SERVE ONLY FOR TONIGHT'S MEETING.
IS THERE A MOTION, UM, FOR A TEMPORARY CHAIR? I SO MOVE.
AND WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO, TO MOVE WHEN YOU WANNA GO? CHONGA HIGGINS.
CAN I, UM,
I'D LIKE TO, UH, MAKE A MOTION.
BUT I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION FOR, UH, JUDGE LANDER TO BE TEMPORARY CHAIR TODAY.
BOARD MEMBERS, THIS ITEM IS OPEN FOR DISCUSSION.
I TURN OVER THE MEETING TO TEMPORARY CHAIR JUDGE LANDER.
GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO THE, UH, REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF DALLAS COMMUNITY POLICE OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR OCTOBER 13TH, 2026.
I AM TEMPORARY CHAIR JUDGE C VICTOR LANDER, AND I'M CALLING THE MEETING TO ORDER.
TIME FOR THIS MEETING IS 5:34 PM WE WILL BEGIN WITH A ROLL CALL VOTE OF BOARD MEMBERS.
EACH MEMBER HAS BEEN NOMINATED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND MAYOR TO REPRESENT THE CITIZENS OF DALLAS.
AS I CALL EACH DISTRICT, PLEASE INDICATE YOUR PRESENCE.
DISTRICT TWO, JONATHAN MAPLES.
JONATHAN MAPLES, DISTRICT TWO, PRESENT.
JENNIFER JENNY KING, PRESENT DISTRICT 11.
AND DISTRICT 15 WOULD BE THE CHAIR.
HAVING HEARD THE ROLL CALL, WE HAVE A QUORUM AND WE CAN BEGIN THE PERMISSION
[II. Purpose of the CPO]
OF THE COMMUNITY POLICE OVERSIGHT BOARD.CPOB, WHICH WAS FORMALLY KNOWN AS THE CIVILIAN RE REVIEW BOARD, IS TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN TRUST BY ENSURING THAT COMPLAINTS OF OF MISCONDUCT INVOLVING DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL ARE REVIEWED FAIRLY TRANSPARENTLY AND THOROUGHLY.
THE BOARD IS SUPPORTED BY THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY POLICE OVERSIGHT, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS OCPO, WHICH PROVIDES LOGISTICAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO HELP FULFILL THIS MISSION AND MAINTAIN ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE COMPLAINT PROCESS.
BOARD PROCEEDINGS ARE DESIGNATED, OR EXCUSE ME, ARE DESIGNED TO FOSTER OPEN COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC STA STAKEHOLDERS, WHILE ENSURING THAT THE BOARD'S BUSINESS IS CONDUCTED EFFICIENTLY AND RESPECTFULLY.
THIS BOARD IS COMMITTED TO ACCESSIBILITY.
IF YOU REQUIRE TRANSLATION, SIGN, LANGUAGE, INTERPRETATION, OR OTHER ACCOMMODATIONS, PLEASE CONTACT O CPO@DALLAS.GOV.
AT LEAST 72 HOURS BEFORE THE MEETING,
[III. Public Comment / Open Microphone]
WE'RE GONNA[00:05:01]
BEGIN WITH PUBLIC COMMENT, AN OPEN MICROPHONE.ACCORDING TO MY INFORMATION, WE HAVE 18 SPEAKERS SIGNED IN.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE THAT MANY PEOPLE.
TO ENSURE A PRODUCTIVE MEETING, PLEASE FOLLOW THESE RULES OF PROCEDURE.
SPEAKER MUST SEEK SPEAKING WHEN THEY'RE ALLOCATE A ALLOTTED TIME HAS ENDED.
PUBLIC COMMENTS MUST BE RELATED TO THE AGENDA ITEM AND BE WITHIN THE BOARD'S JURISDICTION.
PUBLIC COMMENT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE RIGHT TO ENGAGE IN DIALOGUE WITH THE COMMISSION.
BE RESPECTFUL OF THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE SPEAKERS, STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS.
WHILE DISSENT IS WELCOME, PLEASE, REFERRING FROM PROFANE, PERSONAL THREATENING, DEROGATORY, DEMEANING, OR ABUSIVE STATEMENTS, AS WELL AS OFF TOPIC REMARKS.
WE STRIVE FOR CONSTRUCTIVE, RESPECTFUL DIALOGUE.
DO NOT DISRUPT THE ORDERLY CONDUCT OF THE MEETING.
A PERSON ENGAGING IN CONDUCT THAT DISRUPTS.
THIS MEETING MAY BE MUTED OR REMOVED.
I'LL REVIEW NOW THE GUIDELINES FOR MAKING PUBLIC COMMENTS.
IF YOU WISH TO SPEAK IN PERSON, PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT CARD.
IF YOU ATTEND REMOTELY, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FUNCTION ON WEBEX.
ALRIGHT, SO FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, EACH PERSON WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES, MINUTES.
PLEASE FOLLOW THOSE LIMITS WHEN I CALL YOU WHEN TO SPEAK.
IS AZEL ALVAREZ PRESENT ONE, ONE SECOND WHILE WE START THE, UH, COUNTDOWN.
ALRIGHT, MR. ALVAREZ, YOU MAY PROCEED.
I HAD A CHANGE WHERE MY KIDS SLEEP.
THOSE ARE THE WORDS OF A FATHER IN AMARILLO, TEXAS.
A FATHER WHO DISCOVERED THAT A POLICE OFFICER HAD BEEN ALLEGEDLY BEEN USING THE GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY TO MONITOR HIS MOVEMENTS.
INVESTIGATORS FOUND THAT THE OFFICER SEARCHED HIS VEHICLE 76 TIMES USING FLOCK OVER APPROXIMATELY FIVE MONTHS, 76 TIMES.
AND THAT FATHER BECAME SO AFRAID FOR HIS FAMILY SAFETY THAT HE CHANGED WHERE HIS CHILDREN SLEPT.
NO PARENTS SHOULD HAVE TO FEAR THE VERY PEOPLE SWORN TO PROTECT THEIR FAMILY.
NOW, I'M NOT ACCUSING DALLAS OFFICERS OF DOING WHAT HAPPENED IN AMARILLO, BUT I AM ASKING THIS BOARD ONE QUESTION.
IF IT HAPPENED HERE, WOULD WE EVEN KNOW DALLAS HAD 690 FLAW CAMERAS AND IT RETAINS LICENSE PLATE RECORDS FOR 365 DAYS AND 202
[00:10:01]
OUTSIDE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES CAN SEARCH OUR DATA.WE'VE BUILT SUCH A POWERFUL SYSTEM TO WATCH THE PUBLIC.
WHERE'S THE EQUALLY POWERFUL SYSTEM TO HOLD ITS USERS ACCOUNTABLE? DPD TELLS US THAT IT CONDUCTS WEEKLY AUDITS AND THAT'S GOOD.
BUT AN AUDIT IS NOT ACCOUNTABILITY SIMPLY BECAUSE SOMEONE SAYS IT HAPPENED.
AN AUDIT BECOMES ACCOUNTABILITY WHEN PROBLEMS ARE IDENTIFIED AND THOSE FINDINGS ARE DOCUMENTED AND CONSEQUENCES ARE REPORTED.
SO I'VE REVIEWED FLOCK RECORDS RELEASED BY A POLICE DEPARTMENT IN WASHINGTON THAT SHOWED 50 SEARCH ENTRIES ATTRIBUTED TO DALLAS POLICE AND ALL 50 HAD BLANK CASE NUMBER FIELDS 16 LISTED ICE AND ERO AS THE INVESTIGATIVE REASON.
THOSE RECORDS ALONE DON'T PROVE MISCONDUCT, BUT THE MISSING FIELDS COULD REFLECT HOW THE RECORDS WERE EXPORTED.
BUT THEY RAISE QUESTIONS DALLAS CAN ANSWER.
WERE THOSE SEARCHES JUSTIFIED? WERE THEY AUDITED? AND WHAT DID THOSE AUDITS FIND? DPDS OWN PRESENTATION ACKNOWLEDGES THAT OFFICERS CAN VIOLATE GENERAL ORDERS AND RECEIVE DOCUMENTED COUNSELING AND HAVE THOSE VIOLATIONS CLASSIFIED AS NOT MISUSE.
IF BREAKING THE RULES DOESN'T COUNT AS MISUSE, THEN WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE COUNTING? YOU KNOW, AMARILLO'S CONVA CONTROVERSY THAT HAPPENED, THEY ENDED UP MOVING FROM 30 DAYS TO SEVEN DAYS AND FLOCK RECOMMENDS SEVEN DAYS INSTEAD OF 365.
SO WHY DOES DALLAS NEED AN ENTIRE YEAR WHEN ANOTHER TEXAS CITY DECIDED THAT SEVEN DAYS IS ENOUGH? I RECOGNIZE THIS SYSTEM CAN SOLVE CRIMES AND FIND MISSING PEOPLE, BUT TONIGHT I'M ASKING THIS BOARD TO REQUEST A WRITTEN REPORT SHOWING FLAG SEARCHES, CONFIRMED POLICY VIOLATIONS, CORRECTIVE ACTIONS, AND TO REQUEST THE FINDINGS OF DPDS ONGOING CONSTITUTIONAL POLICING AUDIT.
IF DALLAS CAN KEEP RECORDS OF OUR CARS WHERE THEY'VE BEEN FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR, THEN SHOULD BE ABLE TO TO TELL US WHETHER THE PEOPLE SEARCHING THOSE RECORDS ARE FOLLOWING THE RULES.
OKAY, NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM MADISON MCNAIR.
YOU CAN SPEAK INTO THAT MICROPHONE WHEN YOU BEGIN YOUR TIMES.
HELLO, MY NAME IS MADISON OEL MCNAIR.
I'M 29 YEARS OLD AND I'M A PROUD LIFELONG DALLAS RESIDENT.
CURRENTLY LIVING IN D ONE NEAR THE BISHOP ARTS DISTRICT OF OAK CLIFF AND I WORK IN D TWO IN DEEP EL AT A BOOKSHOP.
I'M HONORED TO SAY I VOLUNTEER ALONGSIDE MANY WHO ARE SPEAKING HERE TODAY.
AS FOR MY TIME UP HERE, I'M ASKING THIS BOARD TONIGHT TO OPPOSE THE USE OF FLOCK, AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS GOING FORWARD.
I WANT TO BE CLEAR, I'M NOT AGAINST PUBLIC SAFETY.
I WANT MY NEIGHBORHOOD TO BE SAFE AND I HOPE THE PEOPLE WHO SERVE ON THIS BOARD WANT THAT TOO.
BUT I DON'T BELIEVE MASS SURVEILLANCE IS THE WAY TO GET THERE.
FIRST, THESE CAMERAS DON'T JUST WATCH PEOPLE SUSPECTED OF A CRIME.
THEY WATCH EVERYONE EVERY TIME SOMEONE DRIVES THEIR KIDS TO SCHOOL, EVERY TIME THEY RUN AN ERRAND, THEIR LICENSE PLATE IS SCANNED AND LOGGED AND THAT DATA IS STORED.
THAT'S NOT TARGETED POLICING, THAT'S A PERMANENT RECORD OF WHERE THEY ARE AND THAT THEY WERE THERE BUILT WITHOUT OUR KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT.
SECOND, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT WHO HAS ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION AND WHAT HAPPENS TO IT.
FLOCK DATA IS SHARED ACROSS AGENCIES AND JURISDICTIONS, AND ONCE THAT DATA EXISTS, IT'S VERY HARD TO LIMIT HOW IT'S USED AND EVEN HARDER TO GET IT BACK.
THIRD, I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE COMMUNITIES THESE CAMERAS WILL AFFECT THE MOST.
WE KNOW THAT SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IS RARELY APPLIED EVENLY.
AND THAT BRINGS ME TO A CONCERN THAT HITS CLOSE TO HOME FOR SO MANY OF US HERE, INCLUDING MYSELF, THE FACT THAT THESE READERS ARE NEAR OUR PUBLIC TRANSIT STOPS.
THIS ISN'T JUST ABOUT TRACKING THE PRIVATE CARS ANYMORE.
IT'S ABOUT TRACKING ANYONE MOVING THROUGH OUR CITY.
I'M TALKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO RELY ON DART EVERY SINGLE DAY.
THE FOLKS WHO TAKE THE BUS TO WORK TO SCHOOL, TO THE DOCTOR BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE ANOTHER OPTION.
WE CANNOT PUT LICENSE PLATE READERS NEAR TRANSIT STOPS.
WE WOULD BE BUILDING A RECORD OF THE PEOPLE INSIDE THEM WHERE THEY BOARD, WHERE THEY RIDE, WHERE THEY GET OFF.
FOR MANY RIDERS, TRANSIT IS THE ONLY WAY THEY MOVE THROUGH THIS CITY.
THE PERSON WHO DEPENDS ON THE BUS THE MOST IS ALSO THE PERSON WHO WOULD BE WATCHED THE MOST.
THE MORE YOU RELY ON PUBLIC TRANSIT, THE MORE COMPLETE THE RECORD OF YOUR LIFE BECOMES.
THAT'S A SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM MEANS SQUARELY AT THE PEOPLE WITH THE FEWEST CHOICES AND THE LEAST POWER TO PUSH BACK.
AND UNLIKE A CAR, A BUS IS SHARED PUBLIC SPACE.
A CAMERA NEARBY DOESN'T JUST WATCH THE DRIVER.
IT WATCHES EVERY PASSENGER EVERY DAY WHETHER THEY'VE DONE ANYTHING WRONG OR NOT IN YOUR EYES.
THERE'S ALSO REAL EVIDENCE THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY DOESN'T DELIVER WHAT'S PROMISED.
STUDIES AND AUDITS IN OTHER CITIES HAVE SHOWN THAT AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS RARELY SOLVE
[00:15:01]
THE SERIOUS CRIMES THEY'RE MARKETED AGAINST.I'M ASKING THIS BOARD TO DO THREE THINGS RECOMMEND AGAINST THE CITY'S USE OF FLOCK.
ANY EXPANSION OF THIS TECHNOLOGY, INCLUDING NEAR PUBLIC TRANSIT STOPS UNTIL THERE ARE INDEPENDENT AUDITS, SHORTER DATA RETENTION, STRONGER PRIVACY PROTECTIONS AND SAFEGUARDS, AND NO EXPANSION WITHOUT PUBLIC OVERSIGHT.
THREE, REQUIRE TRANSPARENCY, INCLUDING REPORTING ON HOW THESE CAMERAS ARE USED, WHO ACCESSES THE DATA AND WHAT IT ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISHES.
I BELIEVE A SAFE CITY AND A FREE CITY ARE NOT OPPOSITES.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING AND I HOPE YOU'LL CONSIDER WHAT I'VE SAID.
NEXT WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM LILY TAYLOR.
MS. DA, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES BEGINNING WHEN YOU START.
THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TONIGHT.
MY NAME IS LILY TAYLOR, 7 5 2 1 5 OF DISTRICT TWO.
I'M AN ARTIST AND MUSICIAN AND TAXPAYER AMONG MANY OTHER THINGS.
I UNDERSTAND THAT NOT ALL CITIES HAVE AN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, SO I THINK THAT'S PRETTY COOL.
AND UH, I LOVE THAT WE HAVE MET HERE IN THIS MAJESTIC CIVIC CENTER TONIGHT.
GARRETT LANGLEY SENT A LETTER TO THE US SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE REVEALING THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO SEARCH FOR HUMANS IN IMAGES TAKEN BY FLOCK CAMERAS.
IT IS NAIVE TO THINK THAT THE EVERY CAMERA IS NOT RECORDING FOOTAGE MAXIMIZED FOR DATA COLLECTION.
THIS IS HEAT MAPS, MOVEMENT PATTERNS, IDENTIFIABLE CHARACTERISTICS, AND THEN THE FOOTAGE IS SCANNED BY WHAT WE ARE CALLING AI.
WHAT STATISTICS WERE USED TO TARGET SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOODS WITH MORE CAMERAS THAN OTHERS AS SEEN ON D FLOCK.ORG? WHAT IS WAS THAT A COMPANY CHOICE OR A DALLAS PD CHOICE FLOCK IS ONE OF MANY COMPANIES USING THIS TECH.
AND WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR DATA WHEN THE COMPANY IS SOLD? DALLAS POLICE ARE ALSO ON THIS FOOTAGE.
WHAT WILL AI DO WITH THIS FOOTAGE AND THE ANALYSIS? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN REPORTING FROM HOLDING THE DATA FOR 30 DAYS VERSUS ALL YEAR? WE ARE REQUESTING MONTHLY REPORTS OF WHO IS SEARCHING THIS DATA, DO THE SEARCHES COMPLY WITH DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT POLICIES, A LIST OF WHO HAS ACCESS TO THE DATA AND A LIST OF THE SEARCHES OF THE DATA.
WHAT IS THE INTENT OF THE SEARCHES, UH, LINE ITEMIZED BUDGET INFORMATION WHERE THE DATA IS BEING STORED? AND DOES THAT CAUSE A NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE? AS WE'VE JUST SEEN IN RUSSIA, UM, ALL OF US HAVE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
THIS MASS SURVEILLANCE ENDANGERS YOUR OWN ACCESS TO THESE RIGHTS AS WELL AS MINE.
AND I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD PROCEED ACCORDINGLY.
NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM ESTEBAN HERNANDEZ.
IS THAT NOEL? IS THAT NOEL? YES, THAT IS NOEL ONE OF THESE DAYS.
MS. ESTRADA, YOUR THREE MINUTES BEGINS WHEN YOU START.
MY NAME IS NOEL ESTRADA AND I RESIDE IN DISTRICT EIGHT.
UM, I'M HERE HONESTLY FOR THE SECOND TIME TO THE COMMITTEE POLICE OVERSIGHT BOARD.
UM, AND THE MORE THAT I'VE BEEN EDUCATED, I THINK THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT I HOPE CAN LISTEN TO THE RESIDENTS OF DALLAS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE CONCERNS NATIONWIDE AND STATEWIDE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO RAISE ABOUT THE, UM, FLOCK SURVEILLANCE AND YOU KNOW, HOW TO TAKE CARE OF IT.
SO, UM, I THINK TODAY THE SPEAKERS LATER ON TODAY ARE GOING TO, UM, BUT THEY'RE GOING TO HOPEFULLY GIVE SOME MORE INFORMATION TO THE RESIDENTS OF DALLAS ABOUT, UM, HOW THIS CITY IS PLANNING ON, UH, TRANSFORMING THE MESSAGE OF PUBLIC SAFETY THAT'S INSTILLED IN FLOCK.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE ALL KNOW, THE CEO WAS HERE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
AND HONESTLY, UM, WATCHING SOME OF THE CITY'S CURRENT DECISIONS BEING REVERSED AFTER THAT MEETING FOR WITH THE CEO WAS FLOCK WAS CONCERNING.
AND AGAIN, A LITTLE BIT MORE OF TRUST IS BEING LOST IN THE WAY THAT THESE, UH, THE RESIDENTS ARE VOICES ARE BEING HEARD.
I AS WELL, I ALSO CARE ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY.
YOU KNOW, I LIVE IN DISTRICT EIGHT AND I RESPECT COUNCILWOMAN BLAIR, LIKE DECISION FOUR.
UM, THE WAY THAT SHE STANDS UP FOR HER COMMUNITY THERE, I PERSONALLY DISAGREED WITH THAT.
WE NEED MORE FLOCK, BUT SHE HAS, I KNOW HER OWN CONSTITUENTS WITH THAT
[00:20:01]
CONCERN.UM, I TRUTHFULLY DISAGREE WITH THAT.
UM, I THINK THE IDEA THAT THESE SAME SYSTEMS THAT ARE CREATED WITH FLOCK TO PROVIDE US WITH MORE PUBLIC SAFETY ARE A LITTLE RHETORIC.
UM, THEY ARE ALSO A PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, CONCERN WHEN WE DON'T PUT THE RIGHT GUARDRAILS AROUND HOW WE ACCESS THIS DATA.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT HERE I WANT TO SAY THAT, UM, ACCOUNTABILITY LOOKS IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.
WE CAN'T CREATE A SYSTEM OF OPERATIONS THAT A SUPERVISOR IS, HAS TO APPROVE AN OFFICER'S ACCESS.
UM, THERE'S JUST, IN ORDER TO GET ACCESS TO THE FLOG DATA, THERE'S JUST SO MANY GUARDRAILS THAT WE WE CAN DO AS A CITY.
AND THAT I REALLY HOPE AFTER TODAY WE CAN EXPLORE, UM, YOU KNOW, INDEPENDENT AUDITS.
I'M HERE TO ASK THAT WE THINK ABOUT INDEPENDENT AUDITS, A STREAMLINED SYSTEM OF OPERATIONS TO KEEP OFFICERS ACCOUNTABLE.
MR. O JONATHAN MAPLES REALIZED AT OUR FLOCK TOWN HALL A COUPLE WEEKS AGO THAT NOT REALISTICALLY THROUGHOUT THIS COUNTRY, YOU CANNOT TRUST ALL POLICE OFFICERS.
AND IT'S NOT A BIAS, IT IS A FACT.
UM, SO INDEPENDENT AUDITS AND ALSO SHORTER RETENTION ACCESS, ESPECIALLY WHEN A CASE IS DROPPED.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT DATA 365 DAYS? IT JUST DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE.
UM, I WANT TO SEE A SAFE CITY, BUT THIS ABUSE OF POWER THAT, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAC, LIKE, UM, ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES SAID, UH, D FLOCK.ORG.
IT IS PRIMARILY TARGETING BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
I SUGGEST THIS COMMITTEE TO REALLY STUDY THE MAP AND THE LOCATIONS AND THE ANGLES.
UM, IT DOESN'T REALLY TAKE MUCH TO PUT TWO AND TWO ABOUT THE MAJORITY OF THE CONCENTRATIONS OF THE FLOCK.
NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM STEPHANIE DKA.
I HOPE I PRONOUNCED THAT CORRECTLY.
STEPHANIE DREA WITH THE TEXAS CIVIL RIGHTS PROJECT AND, UH, DISTRICT TWO RESIDENT.
SEVEN YEARS AGO, DALLAS BECAME THE FIRST CITY IN TEXAS TO EARN CERTIFIED WELCOMING STATUS BY WELCOMING AMERICA AND RECOGNITION OF OUR INCLUSIVENESS AND INTEGRATION OF IMMIGRANTS.
ONE OF THE GOALS LISTED IN THE WELCOMING DALLAS STRATEGIC PLAN WAS TO FOSTER TRUST AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DIVERSE COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND SAFETY AGENCIES.
TODAY THERE IS A PROFOUND CONTRADICTION BETWEEN OUR CLAIM AS A WELCOMING CITY AND THE GROWING SURVEILLANCE INFRASTRUCTURE, PUTTING OUR MOST VULNERABLE NEIGHBORS AT RISK.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE DALLAS ICE FIELD OFFICE REPORTED THE SECOND HIGHEST NUMBER OF ARRESTS IN THE COUNTRY.
INCREASED IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT COMBINED WITH UNCHECKED MASS SURVEILLANCE IS A DANGEROUS RECIPE FOR DISCRIMINATORY TARGETING.
RESEARCH PUBLISHED BY 4 0 4 MEDIA IN MAY, 2025 SHOWED MORE THAN 4,000 NATION AND STATEWIDE LOOKUPS BY POLICE DONE AT THE BEHEST OF OR AS AN INFORMAL FAVOR TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OR WITH A POTENTIAL IMMIGRATION FOCUS.
EVEN THOUGH FLOCK SAFETY DIDN'T HAVE A DIRECT CONTRACT WITH ICE, THE AGENCY WAS ABLE TO SOURCE DATA FROM THE CAMERAS BY MAKING REQUESTS TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.
A FLOCK NETWORK AUDIT SHOWED THAT IN MARCH, 2025, A DALLAS PD USER CONDUCTED 16 FLOCK SEARCHES WITH ICE PLUS ERO ENTERED AS THE REASON.
THIS PAST FEBRUARY TWO SEARCHES ATTRIBUTED TO DALLAS PD WERE LABELED IMMIGRATION LOCATE SUSPECT.
DID THESE SEARCHES COMPLY WITH DEPARTMENT POLICY? WAS INFORMATION PROVIDED TO IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS? WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ENSURE OUR POLICE ARE NOT BLURRING THE LINES BETWEEN FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND LOCAL NEEDS? AS AN ASIAN AMERICAN WHOSE WORK IS EMBEDDED IN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES, OFTEN CONSIDERED PERPETUAL FOREIGNERS, I KNOW THAT THE ABSTRACT QUESTION OF BELONGING HAS CONCRETE IMPLICATIONS.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF SURVEILLANCE AND RACIAL PROFILING ARE BOTH DEEPLY PERSONAL AND UNIVERSALLY ALARMING.
LAST YEAR, DALLAS CITY COUNCIL TOOK A COURAGEOUS STAND AGAINST ENTERING INTO A 2 87 G AGREEMENT THAT WOULD REQUIRE POLICE COLLABORATION WITH ICE.
THIS COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITIES SHOULD EXTEND TO PROTECTION FROM A LPR TECHNOLOGY AS WELL.
THE SURVEILLANCE INFRASTRUCTURE AND IMMIGRATION ENFORCE ENFORCEMENT POLICIES ESTABLISHED TODAY WILL SHAPE THE BOUNDARIES OF FREEDOM FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
HELP US HOLD OUR INSTITUTIONS AND LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PROMISES THEY'VE MADE.
A TRULY WELCOMING CITY SHOULD BE MEASURED BEYOND ITS DIVERSITY AND CONSIDER HOW STEADFASTLY IT PROTECTS THE DIGNITY, PRIVACY, AND CIVIL LIBERTIES OF THOSE WHO MAKE SAID DIVERSITY POSSIBLE.
NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM MCCULLOUGH WATKINS.
[00:25:01]
I WAIT FOR IT TO START? YOU MAY PROCEED.UM, I SINCERELY APPRECIATE YOU ALL'S TIME AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO HEAR US OUT ON THIS MATTER.
SO MANY OF US HAVE COME BEFORE COUNSEL AND SPOKEN ABOUT THE PASSIONS THAT WE HOLD REGARDING A LPR AND MASS SURVEILLANCE.
AND I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE REITERATED THE POINT THAT WE DO CARE ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY BECAUSE THAT IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT AFFECTS US ALL.
HOWEVER, INSTILLING TRUST IN YOUR NEIGHBORS AND YOUR CONSTITUENTS IS SOMETHING THAT DOES ALSO INCREASE PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND THE RECENT MOVIE, THE SOCIAL RECKONING, I WAS WATCHING IT AND PAYING ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT WHEN IT COMES TO TECHNOLOGY, THERE ARE SO MANY EXPERTS, SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, THAT ARE AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN THE DIFFICULTIES, THE SAFETY PRE, UH, THE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS IN THE WAYS THAT THE TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE UTILIZE CAN ALSO BE A DETRIMENT RATHER THAN JUST A BENEFIT.
IN THIS MOVIE, WE SAW THAT MARK ZUCKERBERG WAS VERY AWARE OF THE FACT THAT PEOPLE'S INSECURITIES AND A LOT OF THINGS WERE BEING PREYED UPON.
AND THAT WAS WHAT BUILT THE ALGORITHMS, UM, THE EFFICACY AND THE CAPACITY THAT THEY WANTED IT TO BE USED.
IT GAVE THEM MORE POWER AND IT GAVE THEM MORE VISIBILITY.
IN INSTANCES WHERE WE CONSIDER THINGS LIKE A LPR, YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THE FACT THAT WE'VE BEEN SHOWN THE POTENTIAL THAT COULD GO WRONG.
WE'VE SEEN THE WAYS THAT IT CAN BE ABUSED, BUT WE'VE ALSO SEEN THE WAYS THAT PEOPLE CAN STEP IN, IN WAYS THAT YOU CAN BE WISE IN HOW YOU UTILIZE SAID TECHNOLOGY.
WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INSTILL PUBLIC TRUST, ENACT PUBLIC TRUST, BUT ALSO TO INCREASE PUBLIC SAFETY WITHOUT CONCERNING CITIZENS ABOUT THEIR EVERY MOVE AND ALL OF THEIR WHEREABOUTS BEING UNSAFE, BEING MONITORED, AND BEING KEPT FOR SUCH AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME WHEN WE'RE LIVING IN AN ERA WHERE ICE IS OVERCOMING OUR STREETS, SCARING OUR FAMILIES, TERRIFYING OUR CHILDREN, AND EVEN STEPPING INTO THE IMMIGRATION OFFICES WHERE INDIVIDUALS ARE GOING TO PERFORM THEIR DUE DILIGENCE.
WE SEE THAT THIS KIND OF TECHNOLOGY CAN EVEN BE USED TO MONITOR OUR CITIZENS, OUR NEIGHBORS, OUR FAMILY MEMBERS, AND OUR FRIENDS IN WAYS THAT DO NOT BENEFIT THEM, THAT DO NOT BENEFIT THE PUBLIC BENEFICIALLY.
I THINK THIS GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO INDIVIDUALS LIKE YOU WHO ARE ACTIVELY IN THIS COMMUNITY, WHO CAN HEAR US OUT FOR HOW WE FEEL ABOUT THIS, AND WHO CAN ALSO HELP EN ENCOURAGE OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO HAVE SO MUCH ON THEIR PLATE, SO MANY DECISIONS THAT THEY MUST MAKE, BUT TO HELP THEM MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION AS TO WHY WE CAN BE A BIT MORE PRUDENT IN OUR APPLICATION OF THE USES OF TECHNOLOGY, BUT ALSO PROTECTING OURSELVES, OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, AND OUR NEIGHBORS.
I SINCERELY DO APPRECIATE YOU ALL'S TIME.
I'M SO SORRY THAT THE SUN IS SHINING DIRECTLY ON ME, BUT I HOPE THAT THE PRESENTATIONS TONIGHT AND THE VOICES OF ALL OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS WILL RESONATE WITH YOU ALL, WILL GIVE YOU PEACE, WILL GIVE YOU KNOWLEDGE, AND WE'LL HELP YOU TO MAKE A VERY INFORMED AND HELPFUL DECISION THAT CAN HELP US GROW TOGETHER AS NEIGHBORS, AS CITIZENS, BUT TO ALSO HELP US MAINTAIN A VERY SAFE, HAPPY, AND BLESSED CITY OF DALLAS.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME AND ONCE I GET THROUGH TRAFFIC, I'LL BE ABLE TO WAVE IN PUBLIC.
NEXT WE'RE HEAR FROM MARILYN VILLA.
THE, UH, TIMER WILL BEGIN WHEN YOU DO.
UH, SORRY I GOTTA ALLOW THE CAMERA.
ALEX SCOTT, 64 72 TRAMMELL DRIVE.
I'M YOUR NEIGHBOR IN DISTRICT NINE.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST USE MY TIME TODAY TO ACTUALLY SPEAK AS A WITNESS TO SOMEONE WHO, UM, DID NOT GET TO USE THE FLOCK CAMERAS, EVEN THOUGH I KNEW HOW TO USE 'EM.
I KNOW THAT KIND OF SOUNDS KIND OF WEIRD.
SO, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY ABOUT MYSELF.
I USED TO WORK FOR THE WORLD'S LARGEST RESEARCH AND ADVISORY ORGANIZATION FOR ABOUT EIGHT YEARS.
AND I HEAVILY STUDIED EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AND ACTUALLY ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS WAS LIKE THE FOURTH MANAGER AT FLOCK.
'CAUSE FLOCK ACTUALLY USED TO BE A PRIVATE COMPANY FOR PRIVATE HOAS AND NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND PRIVATE COMPANIES THAT IF THEY WANTED TO HAVE EXTRA SECURITY JUST LIKE LIFE 360 RING, ALL THAT JAZZ, IT WAS THE SAME THING.
AND SO WE'VE NOW TAKEN A PRIVATE COMPANY DOING PRIVATE
[00:30:01]
SECURITY AND EXPANDED THAT MODEL TO A NATIONAL PUBLIC DATABASE THAT'S VERY DANGEROUS.AND THE REASON WHY I SAY THAT IS BECAUSE YOU'RE NO LONGER SOLVING THE ACTUAL PROBLEMS. THIS TIME LAST YEAR, MY CAR WAS STOLEN OUTSIDE OF MY FRONT YARD AT 2:00 AM IT TOOK 12 HOURS FOR DPD TO CALL ME BACK Y'ALL 12 HOURS TO CALL ME BACK.
BUT I KNEW THAT WE HAD FLOCK AND I SAID, HEY, I GOT ON THE PHONE WITH THE PERSON, I SAID, HEY, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE FLOCK.
THIS IS THE TIMEFRAME THAT MY CAR WAS STOLEN.
THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT MY CAR LOOKS LIKE I EVEN HAVE CAMERA FOOTAGE FROM MY OTHER NEIGHBORS.
HOW CAN WE GET THIS NIPPED IN THE BUTT AS FAST AS POSSIBLE? AND THEY SAID, WE CANNOT USE THE FLOCK CAMERAS TO FIND YOUR CARLOCK.
THAT IS A TRUE STORY ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE WITH DPD LESS THAN A YEAR AGO WITH FLOCK ON ONE OF THE MOST BASIC CONCEPTS OF WHAT THAT COMPANY WAS SET UP TO DO.
AND SO I JUST WANNA SAY THAT I DID GET MY CAR BACK BECAUSE I PRAYED, I CALLED MY CAR COMPANY AND THE TOWING COMPANY FROM AN APARTMENT COMPLEX FOUND IT.
SO JUST UNDERSTAND THAT SOMEONE WHO KNEW HOW TO USE FLOCK AND DIRECTED DPD TO USE IT, THEY TOLD ME THEY COULD NOT USE IT.
AND THE ONLY WAY THAT I GOT MY CAR BACK WAS THROUGH THE NATURAL PROCESS OF PRAYING PUBLIC SERVICE AND A INBOUND LOT.
SO JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, THANK YOU MS. SCOTT.
NEXT WE WILL HEAR FROM JENNY MENDEZ.
MS. MENDEZ, YOUR TIME BEGINS WHEN YOU BEGIN.
MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY POLICE OVERSIGHT BOARD.
MY NAME IS JEANNIE MENDEZ AND I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE LATINO LEADERS COALITION REPRESENTING MEMBERS FROM ALL 14 DISTRICTS.
AND I COME WITH MY KNOWLEDGE AS A POLICY FOCUS PROFESSIONAL.
IN THIS ROOM, WE SHARE THE BELIEF THAT DALLAS SHOULD BE A SAFE CITY FOR ALL OF ITS RESIDENTS.
SO LET'S START WITH THE GOOD DPD REDUCED THE NUMBER OF AGENCIES WITH ACCESS TO OUR INFORMATION FROM MORE THAN 1,500 TO 202 SEARCHES REQUIRE AN OFFENSE TYPE A REASON, AND A CASE NUMBER.
THOUGH THIS REQUIREMENT IS NOT PART OF DPDS GENERAL ORDERS AND DPDS CONSTITUTIONAL UNIT CONDUCTS SOME TYPE OF AUDIT.
WHILE DPD HAS STARTED REGULATIONS AND PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT DALLAS RESIDENTS DATA, THE SAME CANNOT BE SAID ABOUT THE REMAINING 202 OUTSIDE AGENCIES THAT HAVE ACCESS TO RESIDENCE DATA.
A PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST REVEALED THAT AT LEAST EIGHT AGENCIES THAT PREVIOUSLY RECEIVED DATA HAVE DOCUMENTED CASES OF POLICE ABUSE OR MIS OR MISUSE OUR INFORMATION OR FAMILIES INFORMATION WAS IN THE HANDS OF PEOPLE WE DID NOT KNOW ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND OUR TAX DOLLARS FUNDED THAT MISUSE WITHOUT SAFEGUARDS.
WE CANNOT TRUST HOW OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES HANDLE OUR DATA.
THERE'S AN URGENT NEED TO REGULATE OUTSIDE AGENCIES ACCESS TO THIS DATA.
ALDO DBD GENERAL ORDERS SUBSCRIBED RETAINING INFORMATION FOR A 30 DAY PERIOD.
WE LEARNED DURING A DPD PRESENTATION ON SEPTEMBER 8TH AND OCTOBER 13, THAT IN PRACTICE DATA IS RETAINED FOR 365 DAYS.
AN ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR WILL GO BY WHILE LAW ENFORCEMENT, INCLUDING THE 202 AGENCIES THAT DO NOT HAVE THE SAME STANDARDS AS OURS, HAVE ACCESS TO DATA'S RESIDENCE DATA.
THIS IS CONCERNING WHEN WE REM WHEN WE REMEMBER THAT AGENCIES WITH A HISTORY OF MISCONDUCT HAVE ACCESS AGAIN TO OUR RESIDENTS INFORMATION.
WE WANNA PREVENT CASES LIKE THE ONE IN KATY, TEXAS WHERE FOR MORE THAN SIX MONTHS, BEGINNING NEARLY TWO YEARS AGO, A BAD ACTOR WAS ABLE TO STALK THEIR EX-WIFE USING FLOCK DATABASE.
LET ME BE CLEAR, WE AREN'T LOOKING TO LEVITATE, UH, DPDS CAPABILITIES, BUT RATHER TO UPDATE THE RETENTION PERIOD TO A PRACTICABLE AMOUNT OF TIME AND PREVENT BAD ACTORS FROM COMMITTING HARMFUL CRIMES AND ALL.
AND OVERALL UPDATING POLICY TO KEEP UP WITH TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE DALLAS A SAFER CITY.
I EXTEND MYSELF AND THE LATINO LEADERS COALITION AS A RESOURCE TO THIS BOARD TO WORK ON A-O-P-A-L-P-R POLICY TO ONE, REDUCE THE RETENTION PERIOD TO INCREASE A OPR SAFEGUARDS, THREE VERIFICATION OF OUTSIDE AGENCIES AND ESTABLISHED INDEPENDENT AUDITS.
NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM CHRISTIAN DIAZ.
[00:35:03]
ONLINE.NEXT WE WILL HEAR FROM SANTIAGO DIAZ.
BRIAN J IS THAT ALL WE HAVE? BRIAN J LET'S MOVE ON.
YOUR TIME BEGINS WHEN YOU BEGIN.
I'M HERE TO SPEAK AGAINST FLOCK.
DPD IS PRESENTING TONIGHT WITH A FLOCK EMPLOYEE BESIDE THEM.
WHERE IS THE INDEPENDENT EVIDENCE THAT THESE CAMERAS WORK? DPD SAYS FLOCK HEL FLOCK HELPED SOLVE 13 MURDERS THIS YEAR AND 49 SINCE 2023.
BUT THERE IS NO CASE LIST AND NO DEFINITION OF HELPED SOLVE A TIP, AN ARREST, A CONVICTION.
NO INDEPENDENT REVIEWER HAS CHECKED ANY OF IT.
AND BY DPDS OWN SLIDES TONIGHT, FLOCK WAS THE MAIN REASON A MURDER GOT SOLVED IN FEWER THAN ONE IN SIX CASES AND JUST 7.9% OF CASES OVERALL.
FOURTH PLACE BEHIND VIDEO WITNESSES AND SUSPECTS TURNING THEMSELVES IN AND DPD DOESN'T EVEN DEFINE WHAT COUNTS AS VIDEO OR WHAT MAKES SOMETHING THE MAIN REASON A CASE WAS SOLVED.
EVERY SUCCESS NUMBER WE HEAR COMES FROM DPD OR FROM FLOCK ITSELF.
FLOCKS CLAIM THAT OF A 20 TO 30% CRIME DROP COMES FROM A STEADY FLOCK PAID FOR.
AND ITS ONLY RESEARCHER SAID THE POLICE DATA WAS TOO INCOMPLETE FOR A MEANINGFUL ANALYSIS.
SELF-REPORTED NUMBERS FROM A DEPARTMENT AND ITS VENDOR ARE NOT PROOF.
YOU'LL ALSO HEAR ABOUT SAFEGUARDS TONIGHT.
THERE IS NO SAFE VERSION OF THIS TECHNOLOGY.
IT IS BUILT TO DO ONE THING, WATCH EVERYONE AND KEEP THE DATA.
EVERY QUOTE UNQUOTE SAFEGUARD IS JUST A POLICY THAT SOMEONE CAN CHANGE FLOCK'S.
SEVEN DAY RETENTION ONLY CAME AFTER PUBLIC BACKLASH AND DALLAS OVERRIDES IT TO KEEP OUR DATA A FULL YEAR.
AND THE AUDITS ARE DPD CHECKING ITSELF.
WHERE A VIOLATION GETS DOCUMENTED, GETS QUOTE UNQUOTE DOCUMENTED COUNSELING AND IS LABELED NOT MISUSE.
ACROSS THE COUNTRY, OFFICERS HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF USING FLOCK TO STALK WOMEN.
A SAFEGUARD THAT CAN BE SWITCHED OFF IS NOT A SAFEGUARD.
NOW THE 30, EXCUSE ME, NOW, THE 90 DAY EXTENSION AFTER THE STATE PULLED ITS FUNDING FLOCK OFFERED TO KEEP 321 CAMERAS RUNNING.
OTHER TEXAS AGENCIES SAY THEY OWED NOTHING DURING THOSE SIX 90 DAYS AND DALLAS HASN'T RELEASED ITS TERMS. WHY GIVE AWAY THREE MONTHS OF SERVICE? BECAUSE OUR DATA IS WORTH MORE TO FLOCK THAN OUR TAX DOLLARS.
THIS ISN'T A FREE SERVICE, IT'S OUR DATA GIVEN AWAY FOR FREE.
I'M ASKING THIS BOARD TO DEMAND THREE THINGS, AN INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF FLOCK IN DALLAS, NOT BY DPD OR FLOCK PUBLIC RELEASE OF THE FULL 90 DAY EXTENSION TERMS AND TURNING THESE CAMERAS OFF UNTIL BOTH CAN HAPPEN.
NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM JOVAN GONZALEZ.
MR. GONZALEZ, YOUR TIME STARTS WHEN YOU START.
UH, SO MY NAME IS JAVIN GONZALEZ AND I'M A RESIDENT OF PLEASANT GROVE IN DISTRICT FIVE.
UH, I WANNA START BY SAYING THAT I UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
UH, MY NEIGHBORHOOD DEALS WITH SERIOUS CONCERNS, UH, AND REAL CHALLENGES.
BUT, UH, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE KNOW THAT INVESTING IN PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, RESOURCES IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE.
BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT PUBLIC SAFETY IS A BALANCING ACT.
[00:40:01]
RESPONSIBILITY TO WEIGH THE BENEFITS OF PUBLIC SAFETY AGAINST THE POTENTIAL RISKS TO OUR COMMUNITY.I DON'T DISPUTE THAT THESE CAMERAS HAVE HELPED SOLVE CRIMES, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THE BENEFITS OUTWEIGH THE POTENTIAL RISKS OF MISUSE.
DALLAS RETAINS ITS IMAGES COLLECTED BY FLOCK FOR 365 DAYS.
THAT'S DESPITE THE COMPANY'S OWN SAFETY RECOMMENDATION OF JUST SEVEN, APPROXIMATELY 1900 DALLAS POLICE OFFICERS HAVE ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM.
THAT'S AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF PEOPLE TO HOLD ACCOUNTABLE AND MONITOR TO SEE HOW THEY'RE USING THAT DATA.
WE ALSO GIVE ACCESS TO MORE THAN 200 AGENCIES OUTSIDE OF DALLAS.
AMONG THOSE AGENCIES ARE SHERIFF'S OFFICES IN TARRANT MONTGOMERY COUNTIES, AMONG OTHERS WHICH HAVE FORMAL AGREEMENTS WITH ICE TO PARTICIPATE IN FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT.
DALLAS MIGHT NOT DIRECTLY SHARE OUR CAMERA DATA WITH FEDERAL AGENTS, BUT THAT DOES NOT PREVENT THESE OTHER AGENCIES THAT DO HAVE ACCESS TO OUR DATA AREN'T PROVIDING DATA COLLECTED IN DALLAS TO THOSE AGENCIES.
AND WHAT'S EVEN MORE CONCERNING IS WE'VE GRANTED ACCESS TO SOME AGENCIES OUTSIDE OF DALLAS IN THAT 200 THAT ALREADY HAVE DOCUMENTED PUBLIC CASES OF MISUSE OF THAT TECHNOLOGY.
I BELIEVE THAT DALLAS SHOULD END ITS FLOCK CAMERAS ALTOGETHER, BUT IF THE CITY INSISTS ON KEEPING THEM, WE NEED STRONG MEANINGFUL REFORMS. WE NEED DATA RETENTION LIMITS THAT TAKES OUR NUMBERS FROM 365 DAYS TO JUST SEVEN OR LESS.
WE NEED TO LIMIT OUTSIDE AGENCIES DIRECT ACCESS TO DALLAS CAMERAS NETWORK.
WE CAN HAVE ALL THE GUARDRAILS IN THE WORLD AND OUR OFFICERS CAN BE DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING.
IF AGENCIES OUTSIDE OF OUR CONTROL ARE MISUSING OUR DATA OR ARE HAVING ACCESS TO THAT DATA AND NOT USING IT IN THE PROPER WAY.
WE NEED TO SIGNIFICANTLY RESTRICT WHICH DALLAS POLICE PERSONNEL CAN ACCESS THE SYSTEM.
UH, ACCESS SHOULD BE LIMITED TO PROPERLY TRAINED AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL WITH A LEGITIMATE INVESTIGATIVE NEED.
AND WE SHOULD REQUIRE JUDICIAL WARRANTS BEFORE OFFICERS CAN SEARCH LOCATION OR HISTORICAL LOCATION DATA WITH NARROWLY DEFINED EXCEPTIONS FOR EMERGENCIES.
WE ALSO NEED TO ESTABLISH REGULAR INDEPENDENT AUDITS, UH, THAT ARE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE FOR FULL TRANSPARENCY.
SUPPORTING PUBLIC SAFETY AND DEMAND ACCOUNTABLE ACCOUNTABILITY ARE NOT COMPETING PRIORITIES.
UH, THEY ACTUALLY GO HAND IN HAND.
AND YOU KNOW, FROM MY NEIGHBORS AND MYSELF AND PLEASANT GROVE AND ALL OF DALLAS, I THINK WE ALL DESERVE SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE ALL WANT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE ALL WANNA INVEST IN PUBLIC SAFETY, BUT WE SHOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO MEET, UH, MOVE FREELY THROUGHOUT OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITIES WITHOUT BEING TRACKED.
AND WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO SACRIFICE OUR PRIVACY TO FEEL SAFE IN OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM SHANITA CLEVELAND.
MS. CLEVELAND, YOUR TIME STARTS WHEN YOU START.
IT IS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE BEEN BACK, UH, TO ONE OF THESE MEETINGS.
SO THANK YOU GUYS FOR WAITING FOR ME EARLIER TO SIGN UP AND JUST BATTLE THAT TRAFFIC.
YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS SAID IT SHOULD BE STARTING ABOUT SIX O'CLOCK, UM, BUT THAT'S NEITHER HERE NOR THERE.
IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU AS CHAIR.
I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE CHAIR OR IF YOU'RE JUST ACTING CHAIR TONIGHT, UH, JUDGE LANDER, UH, I WAS IN HIS COURT AND I WILL SAY TO YOU GUYS THAT UH, HE WAS VERY FAIR.
I THINK I REMIND YOU OF THAT EVERY TIME THAT I SEE YOU.
THAT, UH, HE WAS A FAIR JUDGE INSIDE OF THE MUNICIPAL COURT.
UM, BUT I ALSO WANNA SAY I AGREE 100% THAT YOU CAN'T TRUST 100% OF WHAT THE POLICE SAY.
YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT THEY HAVE, UH, SOME OF THE SENIORS, YOU KNOW, UH, UNDER THE OKEY-DOKE, UM, THAT THEY FIGHT CRIME 100% OF THE TIME.
UM, BUT I DO BELIEVE, UM, THAT WE SHOULD ALSO USE FLOCK CAMERAS TO TRACK THE POLICE.
NOW, NOT FOR SURE WHAT DATA YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN.
UM, I WAS HOPING THAT THE FLOCK, CEO OR SOMEBODY WOULD BE HERE, I THINK I MENTIONED THAT, UM, AS WELL, WHO I LOVE HIM VERY MUCH RIGHT HERE.
UM, THAT, UH, WE KNOW THAT THE POLICE CHIEF JUST MET WITH THE FLOCK, CEO.
UM, ONLY THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA REALLY KNEW ABOUT THAT.
UM, BEFOREHAND, UH, WE FOUND OUT FROM THEM AND WE WANNA KNOW, WE GOT SOME QUESTIONS.
UM, SO IF YOU COULD TELL THE CHIEF THAT, UH, IF HE COULD RUN BACK THAT INTERVIEW WITH ME FOR A SECOND TIME, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
'CAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT WENT ON BEHIND THAT CLOSED DOOR AND HOW DID 90 DAYS GET BACK ON THE TABLE.
UM, DID WE HAVE TO PAY FOR IT? DID WE NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR IT? UM, DID THEY GET SOME MORE, UM, DATA TO BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC? UM, IS THERE SOME KIND OF THIRD PARTY AUDIT OUTSIDE OF WHAT THE POLICE SAY? UM, BECAUSE EVERYTHING LEADS BACK TO WHAT THE POLICE SAID, WHAT THE CHIEF SAID.
AND BELIEVE ME, AND, AND, AND THIS IS THAT WHEN WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THE INCREASE IN HOMICIDES UP 12%, IT'S PROBABLY MORE THAN THAT NOW, THESE MURDERS, UM, THAT ARE HAPPENING.
I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW IS FLOCK HELPING TO SOLVE THESE CRIMES VERY, VERY, VERY QUICKLY AND FINDING
[00:45:01]
OUR MISSING PEOPLE, UM, THAT ARE, UM, BEING TAKEN IN VEHICLES.IT'S NICE THAT YOU JOINED US AGAIN.
UM, THAT'S DIRECTOR ANDRE, MS. MICHELLE ANDRE.
UM, IT'S STILL UP ON THE SHELF.
WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE A HIGHLY ACCOMMODATED, UM, ENTRUSTED PUBLIC SERVANT, UM, HERE IN DALLAS.
I'M NOT FOR SURE IF YOU'VE REALIZED BY NOW THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH THE MOST RACIST CITY IN AMERICA, UM, THEN AND NOW I DO BELIEVE MAYBE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF CHANGE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL SPACE FOR THAT TO HAPPEN IN.
SO I KNOW THE CHIEF IS PROBABLY TRYING TO MAKE A GRAND ENTRANCE, BUT IF YOU GUYS CAN JUST LET 'EM KNOW THAT WE HAVE QUESTIONS AND WE WANNA KNOW.
WE REALLY, REALLY WANNA KNOW, UH, WHY YOU'RE STAYING FLOCK CAN, CAN ONLY DO THIS WHEN WE'VE SEEN IT DO OTHER THINGS THROUGH CO COMPLIANCE AS WELL.
HOPEFULLY Y'ALL ARE TRACKING THE DATA.
Y'ALL ARE ASKING THE QUESTIONS 'CAUSE WE GOT A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
I YIELD BACK THE REST OF MY TIME.
WE WILL HEAR NOW FROM TANEM AL, MIKE, KYLE, AND IF I, IF I MISPRONOUNCED YOUR NAME, IT IS ALL SOMEONE ELSE'S FAULT.
I'M AT 47 5 5 GRAMERCY OAKS DRIVE, AND I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT 12 AT FAR NORTH DALLAS.
UM, FLOCK CAMERAS SIT ALMOST EXACTLY AT THE INTERSECTION OF DATA CENTERS AND DETENTION CENTERS ON ONE SIDE.
THIS IS DATA INFRASTRUCTURE 671 CAMERAS ACROSS DALLAS FEEDING A PRIVATE COMPANY'S CLOUD, SEARCHING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TIMES EVERY MONTH.
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE IT'S DETENTION INFRASTRUCTURE AND OTHER STATES.
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES HAVE RUN THOUSANDS OF SEARCHES THROUGH THIS EXACT NETWORK, OFTEN WITHOUT LOCAL AGENCIES OR THEIR CITY COUNCILS KNOWING.
YOU SEE, DISTRICT 12 WAS HOME TO ROUGHLY 96,000 RESIDENTS IN 46,000 HOUSEHOLDS ALONG THE SAME ALONG THE BUSIEST COMMUTER CORRIDORS IN NORTH TEXAS.
AND THESE CAMERAS ARE NOT JUST WATCHING CRIME SCENES, THEY'RE RECORDING THE DAILY MOVEMENTS OF NEARLY EVERY FAMILY IN FAR NORTH DALLAS.
THERE'S ABOUT TWO CAMERAS DOWN PAR RIDGE DRIVE DOWN THE STREET FROM WHERE I LIVE, AND ANOTHER ONE AT THE CROSS STREET WITH TIMBER GLEN.
BUT WE'RE NOT GETTING THE RESULTS FOR ITS MONEY.
THE CITY HAS COMMITTED OVER $5.7 MILLION TO THIS INSTITUTION CALLED FLOCK.
DALLAS PD ACKNOWLEDGED THAT IT KEEPS NO DATA ON HOW MANY STOLEN VEHICLES WERE RECOVERED, OR THAT EVEN THOUGH THE SYSTEM GENERATED NEARLY 19,000 STOLEN VEHICLE ALERTS LAST YEAR, WE DON'T HAVE ANY COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS AFTER FOUR YEARS.
NOW TO ADD SOME LEGAL EXPOSURE, EARLIER THIS MONTH, A FEDERAL JUDGE IN OKLAHOMA RULED THAT WARRANTLESS SEARCHES OF FLOCKS, HISTORICAL PLATE DATABASE VIOLATE THE FOURTH AMENDMENT.
SHE CALLED THE SYSTEM INDISCRIMINATE MASS SURVEILLANCE.
AND THROUGHOUT THE EVIDENCE, DALLAS OFFICERS RUN TENS OF THOUSANDS OF WARRANTLESS SEARCHES A YEAR ON THAT SAME NETWORK.
EVERY DOLLAR INVESTED IN FLOCK IS A DOLLAR OF LEGAL RISK.
UNTIL DALLAS CAN SHOW A SCORECARD AND A WARRANT STANDARD, KEEP THIS CITY ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THAT INTERSECTION.
I THINK IT'S TIME WE REVISIT OUR CONTRACT WITH FLOCK, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE OF US IN DISTRICT 12.
MAYBE INSTEAD OF INVESTING THAT MONEY INTO FLOCK, WE SHOULD BE INVESTING THAT MONEY INTO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND VIOLENCE INTERRUPTION PROGRAMS. CHOOSE PEOPLE OVER TECHNOLOGY.
NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM WAYMAN YOUNG.
I'M HERE WHERE VIRTUALLY SORRY ABOUT THAT.
I NEED YOUR CAMERA ON PLEASE, SIR.
DO YOU SEE IT? IF THAT'S YOU IN A BLUE SHIRT, THEN YES.
YOUR TIME BEGINS WHEN YOU BEGIN.
UH, SO I LIVE IN, UH, THE BOTTON LAKE AREA.
UH, THAT'S PART OF DISTRICT SIX.
UH, AND WHAT I'M PUTTING IN HERE IS BASICALLY THAT I DO WALK AUDITS AROUND MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
I'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW, AND MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE FLOCK CAMERA SYSTEM IS THAT IT'S PRETTY MUCH LIKE EVERY OTHER SYSTEM THAT DALLAS BUYS INTO, BUT DOESN'T SEEM TO EITHER KNOW HOW TO USE OR DOESN'T USE PROPERLY.
YOU HAD SHOT SPOTTER, YOU HAD, UH, TRAFFIC CAMERA.
YOU HAD THE, THE ONES THAT WERE READING THE, UH, LICENSE PLATES WHEN PEOPLE WENT THROUGH RED LIGHTS.
AND THOSE THINGS DIDN'T SEEM TO DETER OR STOP ANY PROBLEMS THAT WE WERE HAVING.
[00:50:01]
I'VE BEEN HAVING IS THAT I GO DOWN TO B LAKE, UM, FOR THE LAST YEAR, AND THE FLOCK CAMERAS DON'T SEEM TO CATCH THINGS LIKE, UH, HOMELESS, UH, CAMPING OUT AT THE SKATE PARK, VANDALISM THAT HAPPENED IN THE SKATE PARK, THE DAMAGE GATE THAT HAPPENED IN THE SKATE PARK, UH, IT DOESN'T CATCH, IT DOESN'T SEEM TO CATCH THE PEOPLE SLEEPING DRUNK ON THE TRAIL.UH, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WHEN WE DO THE WALK AUDITS, YOU KNOW, WE CATCH AND REPORT.
UH, I BELIEVE THE FLY CAMERA'S A POOR SUBSTITUTE FOR GOOD COMMUNITY POLICING.
UH, ABOUT THE ONLY THING THAT I'VE SEEN THAT THE FLY CAMERAS ARE ABLE TO DO IS, UH, THEY'RE REALLY GOOD AT CATCHING, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE DRUNK AND RUN INTO THEM.
UH, I'M WONDERING IF THE FLOCK CAMERA POLES THAT THEY'RE MOUNTED ON ARE BREAKAWAY POLES AND COULD THAT POSE A LIABILITY AND A RISK FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS? UH, THE SAD THING ABOUT THE FLOCK CAMERA SYSTEM IS IT'S, IT CAN EASILY BEWARED WITH LOW TECH, UH, UH, COUNTERMEASURES.
UH, WE HAVE PEOPLE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS THAT THEY SWAP OUT THE LICENSE PLATES, SO IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER IF WE CAN READ THE LICENSE PLATE.
THE LICENSE PLATE DOESN'T GO TO THE VEHICLE IT'S ATTACHED TO.
THEY HAVE FAKE LICENSE PLATES.
UH, AND IN SOME CASES, PEOPLE ARE PUTTING LIKE WRAPPINGS THAT THEY PUT ON CARDS FOR ADVERTISEMENT.
THEY'RE PUTTING THOSE IN THE PLATES THAT FULL A FLOCK CAMERA SYSTEM.
THAT'S ABOUT ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT.
LIKE I SAID, THAT IT'S NICE TO HAVE ALL OF THESE TOOLS IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, IT'S JUST, UH, BASICALLY LIKE PEARLS BEFORE SWINE.
I, I DON'T MEAN THAT IN ANY KIND OF NEGATIVE CONNOTATION, IT'S JUST A PHRASE.
UM, AND BASICALLY, UH, IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE BETTER POLITIC COMMUNITY POLICING, TO HAVE MORE INTERACTION, TO HAVE THIS ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERACTING WITH THE POLICE AND THE POLICE INTERACTING WITH THEM, AND SOLVING THE PROBLEMS WITH COMMUNITY POLICING.
THAT IS ALL THE SIGNED IN PEOPLE FOR THIS FIRST ROUND, LADIES AND
[IV. Approval of September 15, 2026, CPOB Special Called Meeting Minutes]
GENTLEMEN OF THE BOARD.UM, NOW WE HAVE TO APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE THE SEPTEMBER 15TH.
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO REVIEW THE MINUTES THAT ARE IN YOUR PACKET.
IF THERE ARE NO CORRECTIONS, WE WILL PROCEED TO APPROVAL AND VOTE.
ARE WE READY TO PROCEED? IS THERE A MOTION? JULIA? SIMON, DISTRICT 13.
MS. SIMON HAS MOVED DISTRICT 13.
WHO IS WALTER HIGGINS HAS SECONDED.
I'M SORRY, YOUR, YOU SAID OVER HERE, DISTRICT TWO, JONATHAN MAPLES.
ONE OF THESE DAYS, I'LL GET YOUR NAME RIGHT.
JONATHAN MAPLES HAS SECONDED FROM DISTRICT TWO.
DISTRICT TWO, HOW DO YOU VOTE? YAY OR NAY.
WALTER HIGGINS, DISTRICT THREE.
UNANIMOUS, UH, ACCEPTANCE OF THE SEPTEMBER 15TH MINUTES.
[V. Dallas Police Flock Automated License Plate Reader Program (ALPR) Update]
NOW TURNING THE BEAN OVER TO MAJOR ANTHONY GREER TO AND DEPUTY CHIEF STEVEN WILLIAMS. SERGEANT ADAM REINHARDT OF THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT.AND IAN LESLIE FROM FLOCK SAFETY FOR AN, FOR AN UPDATE.
[00:55:02]
I'M SORRY.JUST COME UP TO THE, UH, PODIUM THERE.
I THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH SEATS FOR EVERYONE AND EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM IS INTERESTED IN HEARING WHAT YOU ALL HAVE TO SAY.
I'M SERGEANT REINHART WITH THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY UNIT, AND I'LL LET EVERYBODY ELSE INTRODUCE THEMSELVES.
IAN LESLIE, PUBLIC AFFAIRS MANAGER WITH FLOCK SAFETY.
I'M DE UH, DEPUTY CHIEF WILLIAM G. GRIFFITH, COMMANDER OF THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS GROUP, DEPUTY CHIEF STEVEN WILLIAMS OVER THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS OVER INTERNAL AFFAIRS IN THE ACADEMY.
YOU GO TO SLIDE THREE AND FOUR.
SO THIS IS JUST A OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE PLATFORM OBJECTIVES ARE.
UH, IT IS FOR REAL TIME ALERTS, UM, FOR PATROL OFFICERS.
IT'S FOR INVESTIGATIVE EFFICIENCY WITH INVESTIGATIONS.
AND ON THE DETECTIVE BUREAU SIDE.
UM, IT DOES INCREASE OUR PROCEDURAL JUSTICE WITH A, WITH GIVING OBJECTIVE, UH, INFORMATION INSTEAD OF SUBJECTIVE.
UH, WE ARE ABLE TO UTILIZE THE LICENSE PLATES AND THE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THOSE LICENSE PLATES INSTEAD OF ONLY, UH, RELYING ON WITNESS EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY.
UM, AND OF COURSE, THE OVERALL GOAL IS TO REDUCE CRIME, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND SO THIS IS A CONTINUATION.
SO THIS SHOWS AN OVERVIEW OF WHERE THE FLOCK CAMERAS ARE INSTALLED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, THEY'RE ON PUBLIC ROADWAYS ALONG HIGH CRIME CORRIDORS.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE 690 FLOCK CAMERAS, AND WE HAVE A 365 DAY RETENTION.
AND THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF FLOCK CAMERAS BY DIVISION, AND I CANNOT SEE THAT, BUT THAT IS THE BREAKDOWN OF HOW MANY CAMERAS OF FLOCK CAMERAS ARE IN EACH DIVISION.
AND THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF HOW MANY FLOCK CAMERAS ARE IN EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT NEXT.
SO DVD HAS BEEN UTILIZING A LPR TECHNOLOGY SINCE 2013.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS PROGRESSED SINCE THEN.
AND WE'VE CHANGED VENDORS, UH, SINCE 2013.
UM, THESE ARE LLPR CAMERAS, NOT CCTV CAMERAS.
SO THEY DO ONLY TAKE SNAPSHOTS PICTURES OF VEHICLES AND LICENSE PLATES.
THEY DO NOT CONTINUOUSLY RECORD.
UM, IT ONLY IDENTIFIES CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VEHICLE AND THE LICENSE PLATE.
IT DOESN'T CHARACTERIZE OR CAPTURE FACES ON PURPOSE.
IT IS NOT A, A FACIAL RECOGNITION CAMERA OR FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY.
THE CAMERAS THAT WE USE, UM, THE LICENSE PLATE AND THE VEHICLE DESCRIPTIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS THAT WE GET ARE NOT TIED TO ANY, ANY INDIVIDUALS.
UH, WE, THE SYSTEM IS NOT CONNECTED TO THE T LIT SYSTEM, WHICH IS THE VEHICLE REGISTRATION.
SO WHEN THAT VEHICLE DOES CROSS THE PATH OF THE CAMERA, WE JUST KNOW THAT THAT LICENSE PLATE WITH THAT CAR PAST THAT LOCATION, WE DON'T KNOW WHO THE REGISTERED OWNER IS OR WHO IS IN THE VEHICLE OR ANY PASSENGERS OR THE DRIVER.
UM, AND IT'S ONLY VIEW ON PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAYS.
IT'S NOT POINTED TOWARD PRIVATE RESIDENCES OR PRIVATE DRIVES.
SO THIS IS JUST A BREAKDOWN OF HOW THE TECHNOLOGY WORKS.
THE VEHICLE'S DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, IT PASSES IN FRONT OF, UH, ONE OF THE LPR CAMERAS.
THE LPR CAMERA THEN IDENTIFIES A VEHICLE IS PASSING ITS FIELD OF VIEW AND THEN TAKES A PHOTO OF THE, UH, LICENSE PLATE IN THE VEHICLE AND THEN STORES IN THE CLOUD, UH, FOR LATER RESEARCH NEXT.
AND SO THIS IS WHAT OFFICERS SEE WHENEVER THEY SEARCH A LICENSE PLATE WITHIN THE FLOCK SYSTEM.
IT'S THE PHOTO OF THE VEHICLE ON THE ROADWAY.
IT'S A ZOOMED IN PICTURE OF THE LICENSE PLATE TO VERIFY THE LICENSE PLATE MATCHES WHAT, UH, THE FLOCK SYSTEM IDENTIFIED THE LICENSE PLATE AS VEHICLE TYPE, VEHICLE COLOR, AND DATE AND TIME AND THE LOCATION OF THE CAMERA WHEN IT TOOK THAT PHOTO.
SO THE CITY OF DALLAS DOES OWN THE DATA, UH, CAPTURED BY THE FLOCK CAMERAS THAT ARE PURCHASED BY THE, THE CITY.
UM, THE PHOTOS AND DATA IS DELETED AT THE END OF THE RETENTION PERIOD, WHICH IS THE CURRENTLY 365 DAYS.
[01:00:01]
THE REQUIREMENT IS THAT AN OFFENSE TYPE AND INVESTIGATIVE REASON, AND A CASE NUMBER IS INPUTTED BEF OR WHEN THEY SEARCH, WHEN AN OFFICER SEARCHED SEARCHES THE DATABASE.AND THEN EVERYTHING IS LOGGED WITHIN THE SYSTEM.
SO EVERY SEARCH IS LOGGED WHEN THEY DID IT, WHAT TIMEFRAME THEY DID IT, WHAT TIME THEY DID THE SEARCH, UM, AND THEN ALSO THE LICENSE PLATE OR DESCRIPTION THAT THEY PUT IN THERE, AND ALSO WHAT FILTERS THEY ADDED.
AND THEN ANY NETWORKS THAT WERE ALSO SEARCHED BESIDES OUR OWN NETWORK.
SO DATA IS NEVER SOLD TO PRIVATE ENTITIES.
THE, FROM OUR CAMERAS, WE NEVER SELL 'EM OR SHARE THEM WITH PRIVATE ENTITIES.
ONLY OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, UM, AUTHORIZED LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES CAN SEARCH OUR CAMERAS.
BUT AGAIN, IT'S ONLY SEARCHING.
UH, THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO VIEW, UH, CCTV 'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE CCTV CAMERAS FROM FLOCK.
AND CURRENTLY WE, UH, HAVE ACCESS TO 1000 OTHER AGENCY NETWORKS AND WE SHARE OUR NETWORK WITH 202.
UH, CURRENTLY THERE ARE NO FEDERAL AGENCIES THAT HAVE ACCESS TO OUR CAMERAS.
NEXT WE DO PERFORM, UH, WEEKLY AUDITS THAT CROSS REFERENCE OUR CAD AND CASE NUMBERS WITH WHAT IS ENTERED INTO THE FLOCK SYSTEM.
UH, ANYTHING THAT IS UNVALIDATED GETS SENT TO THE IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR OF THAT OFFICER FOR REVIEW, AND THEY DO FOLLOW UP WITH IT.
AND WE DO HAVE ONE DOCUMENTED COUNSELING, UH, ON THE, AS NOTED IN THE SLIDE AND WAS SPOKEN ABOUT IN THE BLAST PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING.
AND THEN ALSO NOTING THAT, SO CONSTITUTIONAL POLICING UNIT IS CURRENTLY CONDUCTING AN AUDIT OF THE A LPR PROGRAM, UH, THAT WE'RE USING RIGHT NOW, INCLUDING, UH, REVIEWING SEARCHES AND EVERYTHING PREVIOUSLY NEXT.
SO CURRENTLY THERE ARE 2100 DPD OFFICERS THAT HAVE ACCESS TO IT.
AND JUST TO, TO MEASURE THAT AGAINST HOW MANY PERSONNEL THE D THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS, WE HAVE OVER 4,100 PERSONNEL ON THE, ON THE DEPARTMENT, AND 2100 HAVE ACCESS TO THE FLOCK SYSTEM.
UM, AND THEN JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU AN IDEA, SO IN SEPTEMBER THERE WAS 37,000 SEARCHES, LIKE INDIVIDUAL SEARCHES WITHIN THE FLOCK PLATFORM PERFORMED BY THOSE 2100 OFFICERS.
UM, BUT OUT OF THOSE 37,000, THERE'S ONLY 3000 UNIQUE LICENSE PLATES.
SO THAT MEANS ONLY 3000 PLATES WERE ACTUALLY SEARCHED IN THAT SYSTEM.
AND YOU GET THAT DISCREPANCY BECAUSE YOU HAVE MULTIPLE OFFICERS SEARCHING THE SAME LICENSE PLATE BECAUSE THEY ARE WORKING THE SAME CALL OR WORKING THE SAME INVESTIGATION.
SO THEY CONTINUOUSLY SEARCH THE SAME LICENSE PLATE IN THE, IN THE SYSTEM.
UH, YEAH, SO IT'S ACTUALLY, SORRY, I WAS SORRY ABOUT THAT.
SO IT'S ACTUALLY 5,400 UNIQUE LICENSE PLATES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ABOUT 3000 UNIQUE CASE NUMBERS THAT EQUAL THAT 37,000 SEARCHES IN THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER.
AND SO WHEN YOU DO THE NUMBERS, THAT'S APPROXIMATELY 2.5 LICENSE PLATES, SEARCH PER OFFICER PER MONTH NEXT.
AND SO NOW WE'RE GETTING INTO THE METRICS OF, OF ITS USE AND ITS SUCCESS RATE WITHIN THE, UM, CAPERS.
UM, CURRENTLY WITHIN CAPERS, IT IS RANKED NUMBER FOUR ON SOLVABILITY OR SOLVING FACTOR.
SO THAT'S ALL CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS.
THAT'S HOMICIDE, ASSAULTS, ROBBERIES, SEX, ASSAULTS NEXT.
AND SO THIS BREAKS DOWN WHERE THE A LPR TECHNOLOGY RANKS IN EACH OF THOSE INDIVIDUAL, UH, CATEGORIES.
HOMICIDES IS RANKED NUMBER FOUR AND SOLVES, UH, PRIMARY SOVEREIGN FACTOR ON 15.9%.
I DON'T NEED TO READ THROUGH ALL OF THEM, BUT ON BUSINESS ROBBERIES AND AGGRAVATED KIDNAPPINGS, IT'S RANKED TWO, UH, FOR THOSE DIFFERENT CATEGORY OFFENSES.
AND THEN THESE ARE ARRESTS, UH, ASSOCIATED WITH FLOCK.
UH, ONE IS BY GEAR, HOW MANY ARRESTS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH FLOCK ON EACH YEAR.
AND THEN ON THE RIGHT IS HOW MANY ARRESTS IN EACH DISTRICT, UH, WERE ASSOCIATED WITH FLOCK NEXT.
AND THIS IS JUST TO SHOW YOU THAT IT'S NOT JUST USED FOR ARREST OR ENFORCEMENT OR INVESTIGATIVE PURPOSES.
UH, THIS WAS A CRITICAL MISSING IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR OUT OF CROWLEY, UM, CROWLEY PD CALLED THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, AND SAID THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE IN THE AREA.
DALLAS POLICE OFFICERS RAN THE LICENSE PLATE OF THAT CRITICAL MISSING AND WERE ABLE TO LOCATE HER VEHICLE IN AN AREA.
THEY WERE ABLE TO GO TO THAT AREA, FIND THAT, UH, MISSING FEMALE IN HER CAR, PARKED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD NEXT.
[01:05:06]
AT THIS TIME I'M GONNA TURN THE MEETING OVER TO THE BOARD.
WE HAVE 15 MINUTES OR SO TO HAVE QUESTIONS OF THESE FOLKS PROCEED.
BRANDON FRIEDMAN, DISTRICT 14.
HAVE SOME QUESTIONS? MICROPHONE? IT IS, CAN YOU HEAR ME? I CAN NOW.
UM, THANK YOU GUYS FOR SHOWING UP AND GIVING US THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
FIRST, WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES INSIDE DPD FOR MISUSING OR ABUSING FLOCK? THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
SO THAT MISUSE, BASED ON THE COURSE OF THE INVESTIGATION, UH, THE COMPLAINT, WHAT'S INVESTIGATED, UM, OUT OF THE, THAT CAN RANGE FROM A TERMINATION ALL THE WAY DOWN FROM THE HIGHEST LEVEL, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO LOWEST LEVEL, WHICH IS A, UH, ADVICE AND COUNSELING.
IT'S BASED ON THE INVESTIGATION OF WHAT THAT MISUSE, UH, EQUIPMENT MISUSE OR ABUSE OR MISUSE OF CITY OR UNAUTHORIZED USE OF EQUIPMENT ALLEGATION.
UM, I WANNA MAKE A, AN A COMMENT ABOUT THAT.
SO, SO THE MOST SEVERE PUNISHMENT IS TERMINATION, CORRECT? YES, SIR.
SO YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT A HIPAA VIOLATION IS WITH WITHIN THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY.
SO IF YOU MISUSE OR ABUSE, UH, PEOPLE'S HEALTHCARE RECORDS, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAYS YOU CAN BE SUBJECT TO UP TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON AND A $250,000 FINE.
THAT'S JUST FOR MISUSING HEALTHCARE RECORDS, MEDICAL RECORDS.
UM, YOU'RE BASICALLY ASKING US TO ADOPT, UH, WHAT AMOUNTS TO A SURVEILLANCE STATE.
AND AS A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE SAID, IF IT'S, IF IT'S WORTH IT, YOU KNOW, WE, YOU KNOW, WE COULD DO THAT.
BUT I, I THINK THAT A, THE, THE ACCOUNTABILITY IS NOT HERE FOR THIS YET.
AND, UM, IF, IF THE PUNISHMENT FOR MISUSING HEALTHCARE RECORDS ARE THAT SEVERE AND THE PUNISHMENT FOR MISUSING, UM, FLOCK CAMERAS, SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS, UH, ARE ONLY TERMINATION, I THINK WE'VE GOT A, A HUGE DISCONNECT.
AND I THINK THAT'S A GAP THAT HAS TO BE ADDRESSED.
UM, I EXPECT TO SEE A LOT MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MUCH MORE SEVERE PUNISHMENT FOR MISUSING AND ABUSING THIS TECHNOLOGY, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO GIVE THE COMMUNITY TRUST, UM, IF WE KNOW THAT THERE, THAT PEOPLE ARE BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
UM, THEN I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION.
UM, SO DPD SELF-REPORTS, ITS FLOCK DATA.
UH, IS THAT CORRECT? SPECIFICALLY WITH RESPECT TO THE PRIMARY SOLVING FACTORS IN INVESTIGATIONS? YES, SIR.
SO BEGINNING FROM 20, WE HAVE 2026, AND MOVING FORWARD, WE'LL BE DETERMINING WHAT OUR PRIMARY SOLVING FACTOR IS.
AND WE JUST DON'T LOOK FOR, JUST, JUST FOR A LPR.
SO WE LOOK AT OTHER FACTORS, UH, WHETHER IT'S FINGERPRINTS, WHETHER IT'S DNA, FACIAL RECOGNITION, UH, PAWN RECORDS, A A WHOLE, UH, MULTITUDE OF FACTORS THAT WE LOOK AT WHEN WE'RE SOLVING OUR CRIME.
AND SO THE DETECTIVES LIST THAT ON WHAT THE PRIMARY SOLVING FACTOR IS THAT RESULTED IN, UM, IN THE, UH, ARREST, UH, OF THE INDIVIDUAL INVOLVED IN THAT CRIME.
ALSO, WE KEEP TRACK ALSO OF CONTRIBUTING FACTORS.
SO THE PRIMARY SOLVING FACTOR MAY HAVE BEEN, UM, ONE THING MAY HAVE BEEN A OPR, BUT ANOTHER, UH, SOLVING FACTOR MAY HAVE BEEN DNA.
SO WE, WE, WE KEEP TRACK OF, OF THOSE ON, ON, KIND OF HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT CAUSED THE CASE TO BE SOLVED.
SO, UM, WHEN IT, WITH RESPECT TO FLOCK AND IN, AND ITS USE IN THESE INVESTIGATIONS, IS THAT DATA PUBLIC? SO YOU'VE, YOU'VE SELF-REPORTED, YOU KNOW, THE PERCENTAGES OF CASES IN WHICH FLOCK WAS A PRIMARY SOLVING FACTOR.
UH, IS THAT CASE DATA PUBLIC? CAN YOU KNOW, CAN YOU TELL US WHICH MURDER, UH, FLOCK ASSISTED WITH AND HOW FLOCK ASSISTED WITH IT? IT, IT COULD BECOME PUBLIC IF YOU DID AN OPEN RECORDS REQUEST AND FOR THE INFORMATION ON THE INVESTIGATION, IT COULD, IT COULD BE PUBLIC.
UM, OUTSIDE OF A PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST, UH, WOULD DPD BE WILLING TO SHARE IT REGULARLY IN EACH CASE WITH THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY POLICE EVER SAY? YEAH, SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS.
SO THERE IS A DASHBOARD FOR FLOCK THAT WE'RE ADDING THINGS TO THAT EVERY, EVERY MONTH.
AND SO WE'RE, WE ARE ALSO, WE ARE, UH, IN THE PROCESS OF GOING TO REPORT OUT THE DATA OR
[01:10:01]
THE USE OF THE FLOCK SYSTEM, UH, AND THE PRIMARY SOLVING FACTOR WOULD BE PART OF THAT AS WELL.SO WE'RE GONNA BE TRANSPARENT ON THE USE OF THE FLOCK.
WHAT WAS THE CONTRIBUTING FACTOR? WHAT WAS A LPR USED FOR? SO WE'RE USING, UH, DOING THAT AS WE SPEAK.
UM, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY WAY TO SUPPORT THIS WITHOUT TRANSPARENCY.
UM, WE NEED TO KNOW, UM, HOW IT'S BEING USED, UM, AND WHETHER IT'S EFFECTIVE DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUAL CASE LEVEL.
AND IF WE'RE NOT GETTING THAT, UM, THEN IT, THEN IT'S GONNA BE HARD TO SUPPORT.
AND WE CAN GIVE YOU THE LINK TO THE DASHBOARD RIGHT NOW THAT'S CURRENTLY WITH FLOCK THAT WE HAVE THAT HAS SOME OF THE DATA, BUT WE ARE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, REPORT OUT, WE REPORT OUR USE OF FORCE DATA AS WELL, AND WE'RE GOING TO, UH, UH, MOVING FORWARD REPORT THAT THE FLOCK USAGE AS WELL.
UH, I REMAIN VERY SKEPTICAL, BUT, UH, I APPRECIATE, UH, ALL THESE ANSWERS.
JONATHAN MAPLES, DISTRICT TWO.
UM, I, I WANT TO FIRST OF ALL, THANK ALL OF OUR TAX PAYING CONCERNED CITIZENS WHO, UM, TOOK OUT OF THEIR DAY TO COME HERE, AS WELL AS THOSE ONLINE, BECAUSE THIS HAS BEEN A, A CRITICAL ISSUE, NOT JUST IN OUR CITY, BUT ALL OVER THE COUNTRY BECAUSE OF THE SURVEILLANCE SIDE OF THIS.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW, UM, IF MANY OF YOU ARE AWARE THAT OUR TRASH TRUCKS NOW
BUT THERE HAS TO BE SOME TYPE OF ACCOUNTABILITY, SOME TYPE OF REPORTING THAT CAN BE DONE THAT DOESN'T, UH, GIVE AWAY THE PROCESSES AND METHODS OF, OF HOW YOU GUYS ARE FINDING BAD GUYS WHEN USING, UH, THIS TECHNOLOGY.
AND, UM, I LOOK AT, FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS, AND WE'RE HOLDING ON THE DATA FOR 365 DAYS, I THINK FLOCK SAYS WHAT, ONE DAY? SEVEN, SEVEN DAYS.
WE'RE HOLDING IT FOR 365 DAYS.
AND THEN IT, AND THEN I THINK FROM THE PRESENTATION, IT, I FORGET THE TERMINOLOGY WAS USED, BUT IT'S DATA.
AND, AND IF 200, IF 200 OTHER AGENCIES HAVE ACCESS TO OUR INFORMATION, IT'S A BUNCH OF RISK AT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE GETTING A HOLD OF IT.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S JUST THERE.
AND I THINK THAT I'M, I'M WITH MY COUNTERPART HERE.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT STILL NEED TO BE ANSWERED.
IT'S A LOT OF, OF, OF ACCOUNTABILITY THAT NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE.
AND I GOT, I GOT TOO MANY QUESTIONS IN, IN, IN THE PRESENTATION TO EVEN START TALKING ABOUT THEM.
SO I'LL, I'LL PUT THOSE INTO A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION AND I'LL SHARE IT WITH YOUR OFFICE, BECAUSE THE PUBLIC JUST WANTS TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, AND I'M DISTRICT TWO, I REPRESENT THE PUBLIC.
SO WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, YOU KNOW, THINGS MAY GET A LITTLE BIT HARDER, QUESTIONS MAY GET A LITTLE BIT TOUGHER, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ALL GOTTA LIVE HERE IN DALLAS, AND WE ALL WANT TO BE PROTECTED, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO BE MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THINGS THAT ARE BEING TOLD OF US, TOLD TO US ARE THE TRUTH.
AND LASTLY, AND I'LL LEAVE WITH THIS.
SO THE PLATFORM OVERVIEW, AS I LOOK AT THE LITTLE GREEN DOTS THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION AND WHERE FLOCK CAMERAS ARE, FOR THE MANY YEARS THAT I HAVE BEEN ON THE POLICE OVERSIGHT BOARD, IF YOU'VE EVER COME TO A MEETING, YOU KNOW THAT JONATHAN MAPLES RAISE AS HELL ABOUT OVER-POLICING.
AND IF THIS, IF THESE CAMERAS ARE PUTTING, IF YOU'RE PUTTING THESE CAMERAS WHERE OUR REPORT SHOWS US THAT THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION IN SOUTHERN DALLAS IS WE AS PEOPLE OF COLOR ARE BEING OVERPOLICED, THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
[01:15:03]
THANK YOU, MR. MAPLES.ANYONE ELSE? YEAH, I HAVE SOME NERDY QUESTIONS.
UM, WHAT IS THE LOGIC BEHIND THE 365 DAY RETENTION PERIOD? WOULD YOU REPEAT THAT QUESTION ONE MORE TIME? WHAT'S THE LOGIC BEHIND THE 365 DAY RETENTION PERIOD? SEE, BEING A LARGE MUNICIPAL CITY, SOMETIMES, UM, INVESTIGATIONS TAKE A LONG PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE EVIDENCE IS DEVELOPED AND A VEHICLE MAY BE DEVELOPED.
UM, AND SO WE DECIDED, UH, THAT 365 DAYS WAS APPROPRIATE.
SOMETIMES, UM, SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS DELAY OUTCRY FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
UH, NARCOTICS INVESTIGATIONS, THEY TAKE LONG, A LONG TIME.
AND AS THE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES, A SUSPECT VEHICLE OR A VEHICLE MAY BE IDENTIFIED, UH, IN A NARCOTICS TRANSITION OR A NARCOTICS CRIME.
AND SO SOMETIMES IT TAKES, UH, A LONG TIME TO DEVELOP THAT INFORMATION.
AND SO ALSO AUTO THEFT TRENDS.
SO SOMETIMES, UM, AUTO THEFTS ARE THE SUSPECTS AND AUTO THEFTS ARE, THEY'RE DONE IN CREWS, INDIVIDUALS STEALING, UH, NUMEROUS VEHICLES OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
NOT TOO LONG AGO, UH, LAST YEAR, WE, WE RESOLVED A, UM, AUTO THEFT CREW THAT STOLE OVER $7 MILLION WORTH OF, UH, VEHICLES.
AND THAT TOOK A LONG TIME FOR THAT INVESTIGATION TO TAKE PLACE.
AND SOMEONE HAD MENTIONED THAT, UM, LICENSE PLATES ARE CHANGED.
THEY'RE, UH, PUT FAKE PLATES ON THERE.
THEY'RE TAKEN OFF THE, THE, UH, FLOCK OR A LPR SYSTEM IS ABLE TO IDENTIFY, YES, THAT SAME VEHICLE WAS USED, BUT, UH, DIFFERENT PLATES, UH, WERE USED INSTILLING THOSE VEHICLES.
BUT IT, IT TAKES DETECTIVE WORK TO, TO FIGURE THAT OUT.
SO IT'S JUST SOMETIMES HOW LONG INVESTIGATIONS TAKE BEFORE WE EVEN DEVELOP LEADS IN THAT LEADS.
AND THAT'S WHY WE BELIEVE IT'S, WE NEED THAT TIME PERIOD TO BE ABLE TO DO THOSE AND CONDUCT THOSE INVESTIGATIONS.
SO DID YOU DO A DATA ANALYSIS OF THOSE CASES WHERE YOU REPORT THAT FLOCK HELPED YOU SOLVE THE CASE TO DETERMINE WHAT THE TIME PERIOD WAS BETWEEN WHEN THE FLOCK CAMERA SNAPPED THE PICTURE OF THE VEHICLE AND THE, THE SOLVING OF THIS CRIME? HAVE YOU DONE A DAL ANALYSIS TO SEE IF THAT TIME PERIOD SANS WITH WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING THAT RIGHT NOW, UH, IN THE, IN THE CRIMES AGAINST PERSON SECTION.
WE'RE KIND OF IN MY, I OVERSEE THE AUTO THEFT UNIT TOO.
SO WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT HOW, WHAT IS THE TIMEFRAME IT TAKES BEFORE WE RECEIVED A VEHICLE LEAD, WHEN WE DID IDENTIFY THAT LEAD IN, IN THE A LP ON THE FLOCK SYSTEM AS WELL.
DID YOU DO ANALYSIS OF WHAT OTHER, UM, UH, SIMILARLY SIZED POLICE DEPARTMENTS USE IN FLOCK ARE DOING IN TERMS OF DATA RETENTION? NO.
YOU MIGHT WANNA JUST DO THAT BECAUSE 365 DAYS IS A LONG TIME FOR DATA
UH, AND SO I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THE BENEFIT OF KEEPING IT THAT LONG IS WORTH THE, THE RISK OF ALL THE THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN, UH, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU, UH, GET RID OF IT IN A MORE TIMELY FASHION.
THE, THE OTHER, UH, QUICK NERDY QUESTION I HAVE IS, UM, THIS, UM, YOU TALK ABOUT DATA SHARING, MEANING I, I GUESS WHAT'S AUTOMATICALLY SHARED OR YOU HAVE AGREED TO SHARE THROUGH CONTRACTS OR OTHER THINGS.
BUT, UM, ISN'T IT TRUE THAT, UM, UH, IF YOU HAVE THE DATA AND YOU SAVE THE DATA, THEN UH, A SUBPOENA OR A WARRANT COULD BE ISSUED FROM REALLY ANYBODY AND YOU HAVE TO TURN THAT DATA OVER? I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING YOUR QUESTION.
I'M SAYING, WOULD YOU HAVE TO TURN THIS DATA OVER IF YOU HAVE IT SUBJECT TO A SUBPOENA OR A WARRANT? OF COURSE.
SO IT'S, IT'S NOT THAT YOU, YOU DON'T AUTOMATICALLY SHARE IT WITH ANYONE, BUT IF, LIKE I SAY, ANYBODY WITH A VALID WARRANT OR SUBPOENA IS ISSUED, YOU'VE GOTTA TURN THAT DATA OVER.
AND SO AGAIN, 365 DAYS IS A LONG TIME TO HAVE DATA AT RISK TO GIVE IT TO ANYBODY WHO REQUESTED, OBVIOUSLY, VIA A SUBPOENA,
SO, UM, I HOPE THESE THINGS ARE BEING CONSIDERED AS YOU GUYS ARE REALLY THINKING ABOUT THESE PROCESSES AND THESE POLICIES.
I'LL STOP MY QUESTIONS THERE, JUST 'CAUSE I KNOW WE'RE GOING OVER TIME.
ANYONE ELSE PROCEED, SIR? DERRICK, DERRICK GRAM, DISTRICT SIX, PULL THE MICROPHONE CLOSER TO YOU, DERRICK GRAM, DISTRICT SIX.
I NOTICED THAT YOU SAID, UM, IN YOUR REPORT THAT THEY DO NOT INTENTIONALLY RECORD SO THEY CAN RECORD, UM, INSTEAD OF JUST TAKING PICTURES.
THEY TAKE POINT IN TIME STILL IMAGES AS, AS A BURST.
SO IF YOU HAVE AN IPHONE, UM, AND YOU GO TO THE CATEGORY BURST, IT'S KIND OF LIKE THAT.
BUT IT DOES NOT CONTINUOUSLY RECORD.
SO ENOUGH OF 'EM COULD BE PUT TOGETHER.
[01:20:01]
SO I GUESS THE OTHER THING I WAS REAL CONCERNED ABOUT TOO, OR THEY BOUGHT SPARK WAS WHEN FREEMAN BROUGHT UP THE FACT THAT HAVING ACCESS, PEOPLE HAVING ACCESS TO IT, UM, WHO HAS ACCESS? YOU SAY, WELL, IF THEY LET US USE DELL, THEN WE LET THEM USE THEIRS.IT DOESN'T COST, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER.
BUT AT, AT SOME POINT, I GET BACK TO THE ICE THING, IF THEY NEEDED, WE'D HAVE TO LET THEM USE OUR DATA AS FAR AS WHAT WAS AS FAR FROM THE FLOCK MACHINES.
THAT IS SO IF, SO, IF IN ANOTHER STATE OR WHATEVER THEY WERE DOING AND THEY NEEDED TO SEE IF WE HAD THIS PERSON IN OUR POSSESSION DRIVING AROUND, THEY COULD USE IT BECAUSE WE WOULD HAVE, 'CAUSE IF THEY ASKED YOU FOR IT, YOU WOULD HAVE TO GIVE IT TO THEM.
IF WE, IF, IF WE SHARE WITHIN THE PLATFORM STATE, YEAH.
BUT RIGHT NOW WE DON'T SHARE OUTSIDE THE STATE.
WE DON'T SHARE OUTSIDE THE, TO AGENCIES OUTSIDE THE STATE RIGHT NOW.
OH, I THOUGHT YOU SAID WE DO THE SHARING INTERNALLY.
SO SHARING OR HAVING ACCESS TO OUR CAMERAS, WE DON'T SHARE OUTSIDE THE STATE.
NOW WE DO HAVE ACCESS TO CAMERAS OUTSIDE THE STATE BASED OFF OF THAT SHARING AGREEMENT.
SO, SO, SO TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE CLARITY, YOUR AGENCY CAN REQUEST DATA FROM OUTSIDE AGENCIES, BUT THEY CAN MAKE, ALSO MAKE THE, HAVE DISCRETIONARY CHOICE TO NOT SHARE THEIR DATA WITH OUTSIDE AGENCIES.
SO DBD DOES NOT SHARE WITH ANY OUTSIDE AGENCIES, BUT MAY RECEIVE DATA FROM OUTSIDE AGENCIES.
OH, OH, THAT WAS THE OTHER THING.
THE PUNITIVE, UH, THINGS, UH, SOMEBODY MISUSING, UH, FIRST OF ALL, BEING ABLE TO HAVE ACCESS TO IT.
HOW BIG IS THIS GROUP THAT CAN GO IN? SO EVERY POLICEMAN CAN DO THAT, GO IN AND RESEARCH THEIR OWN, DO THEIR OWN RESEARCH.
RIGHT NOW THERE'S 2100, UH, THE OFFICERS THAT CAN, UH, THAT HAVE ACCESS TO FLOCK AND WHAT VALIDATES THEM BASED OFF OF THEIR, UH, JOB DUTIES, JOB FUNCTIONS, UH, HAVING THE NEED TO INVESTIGATE AND USE THE FLOCK SYSTEM.
SO THEY ARE ACCREDITED TO DO THAT.
UH, BUT IF THEY DO ABUSE, I THINK THE, THE LACK OF TRUST COMES FROM IF THEY DO ABUSE IT, THEY'RE ONLY GONNA GET A SLAP IN THE HAND.
WHEREAS HE BROUGHT UP 10 YEARS FOR PEOPLE DOING IT ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
UM, THIS IS PRETTY SERIOUS TOO, TO BE INSIDE PEOPLE'S PUBLIC SITUATION AND ALL.
THEY WOULD ALL, IT WOULDN'T BE A DETERRENT.
SOUNDS LIKE IF ALL I WOULD GET IS, UM, SPOKEN TO OR EVEN FIRED, WHICH COULDN'T BE SOMETHING BIG FOR SOMEBODY, IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THAT'S BIG ENOUGH DETERRENT TO SAY, HEY, DON'T COME IN HERE LOOKING FOR WHAT YOU WANT.
AND, AND THERE'S, THERE ARE STATE LAWS OBVIOUSLY THAT HAVE BEEN USED AGAINST OTHER OFFICERS THROUGHOUT THE STATE WHO HAVE MISUSED FLOCK.
SO REALLY IT'S ON A CASE BY CASE DETERMINATION OF HOW, HOW SEVERE A MISUSE OR ABUSE OF THE SYSTEM IS TO WHERE IT CAN BE AT CRIMINAL CHARGES, NOT JUST, UH, INTERNAL POLICY ISSUES.
SO HE, WELL, I'LL SAY THIS, I THINK WE PROBABLY DO REALLY NEED TO SEE ABOUT MAKING SURE THOSE PENALTIES ARE MORE A DETERRENT THAN TO JUST SAY, THIS IS WHAT COULD HAPPEN.
ANYONE ELSE FROM THE BOARD? UH, MARY ELLEN SMITH, DISTRICT 11.
SO TELL ME, HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHERE A FLOCK CAMERA GOES? SO IT, IT'S BEEN, UH, MANY YEARS WHERE, UH, FUNDING HAS COME IN FORWARD, UH, NEW FLOCK CAMERAS TO BE INSTALLED.
AND THEY'RE BASED OFF OF THE CRIME PATTERNS AT THAT TIME WHEN THE PURCHASES WERE MADE.
SO THESE WERE BACK FROM 2022 ALL THE WAY UP UNTIL 2025 WHEN WE WERE PURCHASING THEM.
SO IT WAS BASED OFF OF CRIME STATS, CRIME MAPPING AT THAT TIME WHEN THOSE DIFFERENT PURCHASES WERE MADE.
SO ALSO THE, IT ORIGINALLY STARTED WITH HOAS AND I KNOW THAT A LOT OF HOAS WERE PURCHASED SOME OF THESE FLOCK CAMERAS AND PUT 'EM UP IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS.
UH, AND THAT WAS JUST TO HELP WITH CRIME AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.
AND SO THE POLICE USED THOSE THAT WERE PURCHASED BY HOAS OR? NO, IT, IT'S UP TO THE INDIVIDUAL, UH, PRIVATE ENTITY, WHETHER THEY SHARE, UH, ACCESS TO THEIR CAMERAS WITH US OR NOT.
UH, SO THEY CONTROL WHETHER THEY WILL ALLOW US TO SEARCH THEIR CAMERAS, UH, WHEN WE SEARCH FLOCK.
SO THERE'S ACTUALLY, THERE'S EXTRA FLOCK CAMERAS THAT DALLAS POLICE AREN'T, DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO? THERE ARE SOME, YES.
LIKE HOW MANY, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY FLOCK CAMERAS ARE WITHIN THE STATE OR WITHIN THE CITY THAT WE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO.
WE HAVE ACCESS TO OURS THAT WE PURCHASED.
ARE THESE IN DALLAS COUNTY? UM, ARE THE FLOCK CAMERAS THAT ARE NOT, UH, USED BY DALLAS POLICE? ARE THEY IN DALLAS COUNTY?
[01:25:01]
I DON'T, YEAH, I THINK THOSE CAMERAS COULD BE ANYWHERE.ANYWHERE IN THE WHOLE STATE OR ANYWHERE IN THE NATION THAT WE WOULD NOT HAVE ACCESS TO.
I MEAN, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND, UH, JUDGE LANDERS NEIGHBORHOOD, IF YOU GUYS PURCHASED FLOCK CAMERAS ON YOUR OWN, AND LET'S SAY THAT YOU WANTED TO SHARE WITH DALLAS PD AND JUDGE LANDERS, UH, HIS NEIGHBORHOOD DID NOT, WE WOULD NOT HAVE ACCESS TO HIS, BUT WE WOULD TO YOURS.
AND THAT SAME SCENARIO GOES ALL ACROSS THE STATE.
AND SO, UM, I MEAN, IT'S NO WAY FOR US TO COUNT IF, UH, HIS NEIGHBOR AND THIS IS ALL OVER DALLAS? THAT'S CORRECT.
THAT WE WOULDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO.
WELL, DERRICK GRAM, DISTRICT SIX.
BUT WHY WOULDN'T YOU IF IT WAS SOMETHING REAL VERY PERTINENT, SUCH AS A MURDERER OR SOMETHING HAPPENING IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD AND YOU WERE ABLE FROM ALL THESE OTHER ONES TO SAY, HEY, EVERYTHING IS LEADING RIGHT THERE.
WELL, SURE, I MEAN, I, I'D AGREE WITH YOU, BUT NOW IF AN INDIVIDUAL PRIVATE NEIGHBORHOOD BOUGHT THAT FLOCK CAMERA, YOU KNOW, THE EXAMPLE WAS JUDGE, THEY BOTH BROUGHT THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, BROUGHT THEIR OWN FLOCK CAMERA.
AND HER NEIGHBORHOOD DECIDED TO SHARE WITH US.
AND THE JUDGE LAND'S NEIGHBORHOOD DID NOT DECIDE TO SHARE.
I MEAN, WE CAN'T MAKE, MAKE HIS NEIGHBORHOOD SHARE 'CAUSE THEY BOUGHT IT THEMSELVES ALMOST LIKE, UH, LIKE AN INDIVIDUAL BOUGHT IT.
AND SO THAT, THAT'S THE REASON WHY.
REALLY? OH, I'M, I'M COMING BACK.
JUST ONE REALLY NERDY QUESTION.
DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? GO AHEAD.
UM, JUST REAL QUICK, UM, FROM A TECHNOLOGY STANDPOINT, YOU, YOU WROTE IN YOUR PLATFORM OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVES THAT, UM, DELIVERING REAL TIME ALERTS FOR VEHICLES THAT ARE LINKED TO ONE PERSONS ET CETERA.
UM, DOES THAT MEAN THAT YOU COULD PLUG MY LICENSE PLATE NUMBER IN AND THEN AS SOON AS A CAMERA, FLO CAMERA PICKS UP THAT LICENSE NUMBER, IT AUTOMATICALLY ALERTS YOU? LIKE, HOW DOES THE TECHNOLOGY WORK? IF YOU'RE SEARCHING FOR ME, AND THEN I HAVE THE SECOND PART OF THAT QUESTION, I I WANT YOUR ANSWER.
SECOND PART OF THAT QUESTION IS, IS THAT SEARCH FROM MY, UM, WHAT'S THE CRITERIA FOR YOU TO START THAT SEARCH? IT'S AN INVESTIGATION OR WHAT HAPPENS THERE, BUT LET'S, LET'S GO WITH THIS.
SO FROM AN, FROM AN ALERT PERSPECTIVE, UM, WITHIN 20 SECONDS, THAT VEHICLE WE IDENTIFIED, SAY IT'S ENTERING A NEIGHBORHOOD OR A JURISDICTION, WILL I, UH, WILL NOTIFY DPD THAT, HEY, THIS VEHICLE IS LINKED TO A, UH, TO A CRIME VERIFIED VIA N-C-I-C-T-C-I-C, UM, THAT WOULD THUS BEGIN THAT INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS.
SO THE, I'M CALLING IT A PROGRAM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, THE, THE, THE, THE PICTURES GO INTO, I'M GETTING A PROGRAM IS WHAT I'M GONNA CALL THEIR APPLICATION OR SOMETHING AND IT HITS.
BUT I CAN START THAT SEARCH BEFORE I START THE SEARCH, BEFORE THE CAMERA, THE CAMERA KNOWS TO LOOK FOR ME.
SO I THINK, SO YOU'RE CONFLATING A, A SEARCH AND AN ALERT.
SO IF I'M ACTIVELY SEARCHING FOR A VEHICLE, RED FORD FOCUS LICENSE PLATE X, Y, Z, I CAN THEN GO OPEN UP FLOCK OS AND LOOK WITHIN THAT SYSTEM.
THERE'S ALSO AN ALERT THAT IS, UH, INTEGRATED WITH NCIC OR IN TCIC THAT IS NOTIFYING DPD, THAT, HEY, THIS VEHICLE PASSED THIS CAMERA AT THIS TIME AND WAS LINKED TO THIS, UM, TO THIS CRIME.
DOES THAT GIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE CLARITY? NO, YEAH, I'M FOLLOWING YOU.
SO I GUESS THEN THAT SECOND PART OF MY QUESTION GOES TO THE DPD ITSELF, LOOKING FOR THE VEHICLE AND HOW THAT SEARCH GETS STARTED.
AM I MAKING SENSE? I I CAN GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF HOW, HOW THOSE SEARCHES WORKED.
SO WE HAD A HOMICIDE YESTERDAY AND THERE WAS A VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE INVOLVED IN THAT HOMI, THE SUSPECT VEHICLE INVOLVED IN A HOMICIDE, UH, WAS A CERTAIN VEHICLE, AND THE BACK WINDOW HAD BEEN, UH, SHOT OUT.
SO THE PATROL OFFICERS, AFTER THEY ARRIVED AT THE LOCATION, WAS, UH, FOUND THAT INFORMATION SPEAKING TO WITNESSES.
SO THEY WERE ABLE TO ENTER THAT VEHICLE DESCRIPTION INTO FLOCK IN, IN A MATTER OF MOMENTS.
UM, IT INDICATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS IN THE INWOOD MOCKINGBIRD AREA.
SO PATROL OFFICERS WENT TO THAT LOCATION, FOUND THE VEHICLE, AND A FOUND A TRAFFIC STOP WAS DONE ON THAT SUSPECT VEHICLE, AND THE TWO INDIVIDUALS IN THE VEHICLE WERE DETAINED.
SO IN THAT EXAMPLE, YOU HAD IN AN INVESTIGATION THAT WAS ALREADY ONGOING AND YOU HAD INFORMATION THAT YOU USED FLOCK TO HELP YOU INVESTIGATE.
SO THAT HAS TO BE HOW IT WORKS.
THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT.
AN E AN EXAMPLE IS JUST ON INVESTIGATION.
SO WE HAVE UNITS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT WHO SEARCH, WHO, UH, SEARCH FOR, UM, WANTED INDIVIDUALS.
THEY GET, RECEIVE INFORMATION THAT THE WANTED INDIVIDUAL IS DRIVING THIS VEHICLE.
AND SO THEY'RE TRYING TO FIND THIS SUSPECT TO MAKE TO, UH, TO, LET'S SAY FOR IT'S A MURDER SUSPECT.
THEY'RE TRYING TO FIND THIS VEHICLE SO THEY CAN APPREHEND THE MURDER SUSPECT.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WHEN YOU SEE, UH, MULTIPLE LICENSE PLATE SEARCHES OF THE SAME VEHICLE BY DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS IS BECAUSE THE MORE THAN LIKELY THEY'RE OUT SEARCHING FOR THAT VEHICLE AT THAT MOMENT.
[01:30:01]
IT'S DETECTIVES, UM, LOOKING FOR THAT VEHICLE, TRYING TO FIND OUT WHERE IT HAS GONE, WHERE IT WENT FROM AFTER THE CRIME COMMITTED AND WHERE IT HAD GONE AFTERWARDS.SO THAT'S WHY, SO WE, THAT'S WHY THE, UH, LICENSE PLATE IS RAN MULTIPLE TIMES BY DIFFERENT, SEVER, DIFFERENT INDIVIDUAL, DIFFERENT OFFICERS IS BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING TO FIND THE VEHICLE TO APPREHEND THE INDIVIDUALS WHO COULD JUST COMMITTED A KIND, LIKE A EXAMPLE I JUST GAVE, UM, OR THE DETECTIVES ARE TRYING TO, UH, FIGURE OUT WHERE THIS VEHICLE WENT AFTER THE CRIME OR WHERE IT WAS AT JUST BEFORE THE CRIME.
I HAVE, I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.
IF, IF I MAY, I HOPE THAT WAS JUST AN EXAMPLE BECAUSE THE EXAMPLE I WAS GOING TO GIVE, UH, A BROTHER GRAM OVER THERE WAS THE NEIGHBORHOOD I LIVE IN, WHICH IS TWO STREETS OFF OF MOCKINGBIRD AND INWOOD.
I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT MOST OF MY LIFE, SOME TYPE OF FLOCK CAMERA SYSTEM HAS BEEN USED IN GREENWAY PARK, WHICH SITS BETWEEN LOVERS, WHICH SITS BETWEEN INWOOD AND THE TOLL ROAD AND IN THE BLUFF VIEW AREA, WHICH I GREW UP IN THOSE AREAS.
AND THE, THEY'VE ALWAYS HAD SOME TYPE OF CAMERA SYSTEM THAT THEY SHARED WITH DPD.
SO YEAH, FLOCK, FLOCKING CAMERA SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN AROUND THOSE AREAS FOR A, FOR A LONG TIME.
BUT I WANNA, I WANT TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR, FOR TAKING OF YOUR TIME AND COMING OUT HERE AND SPEAKING WITH US.
BUT I, I GOT ONE QUESTION AS I, I GUESS I PUT MY NERD CAP ON AS WELL.
I JUST WANNA KNOW, WHEN YOU SAY THE SOFTWARE CONVERTS THE PLATE, MEANING THE LICENSE PLATE IMAGE INTO SEARCHABLE CHARACTERS, EXPLAIN THAT IN LAYMAN'S TERMS FOR ME.
SO IT'S TAKEN THE IMAGE OF THAT LICENSE PLATE AND THEN BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE CHARACTERS FROM THAT IMAGE OF THAT LICENSE PLATE.
UNLESS THAT IS, THAT IS CORRECT.
SO IT'S IDENTIFYING THIS IS A 2018 FORWARD FOCUS SET OF A 2008.
UM, IS THERE OTHER OBJECTIVE VEHICLE IDENTIFIERS? AGAIN, IS THERE A ROOF RACK, BIKE RACK, UM, OTHER ADDITIONAL IDENTIFIERS TO ENSURE ACCURACY OF THE VEHICLE CAPTURED? OKAY, SO ONE OF THE BIG TRENDS WE'RE SEEING IN DIALYSIS, STEALING OF THE LICENSE PLATE, PUTTING IT ON A CARGO, COMMIT A CRIME WHEN THAT FLOCK HITS THAT CAR.
SINCE THAT TECHNOLOGY AUTOMATICALLY SHOULD KNOW, HEY, THIS SHOULD BE ON A FORD FOCUS, BUT IT'S ON A MERCEDES-BENZ, WHAT HAPPENS? SO THEY ARE, THEY ARE IN REAL TIME ALERTED OF THE ONE THE VEHICLE CAPTURE.
SO IF IT IS DIFFERING VEHICLES, UM, THAT WOULD GO THROUGH THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS.
AS YOU'RE REVIEWING THE SYSTEM, REVIEWING THE IMAGES THAT ARE CAPTURED IN THE OS SYSTEM, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY VISUALLY THAT, HEY, THIS LICENSE PLATE WAS STOLEN, TAKEN OFF ANOTHER VEHICLE AND PUT ON A FORD F-150 AS A PART.
AS YOU KIND OF GO THROUGH THAT INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS, DOES IT HAPPEN IN REAL TIME? YOU SAID IN PART OF THE INVESTIGATION PROCESS, BUT DOES IT HAPPEN IN REAL TIME? SO YOU SO PART THE HUMAN, THE DPD OFFICER DOING THE INVESTIGATION WOULD BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THAT.
ANYONE ELSE? MARQUEZ, DISTRICT NINE? UH, JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND SOMETHING.
YOU NEED TO GET A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE MICROPHONE, SIR.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND SOMETHING AND I WANT TO CLARIFY A COUPLE POINTS.
UH, MY COLLEAGUE FROM DISTRICT SIX ASKED ABOUT, UH, OTHER AGENCIES, INCLUDING FEDERAL AGENCIES HAVING ACCESS TO OUR DATA.
YOU ALL SAID THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO OUR DATA, BUT WE DO PERFORM SEARCHES FOR THEM.
CORRECT? WE DO PERFORM SEARCHES FOR THE FEDERAL AGENCIES.
UM, FOR WHAT NOW? WHAT FEDERAL AGENCY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? DEPENDS UPON WHAT CRIME IT IS.
FOR EXAMPLE, ICE, WE TALKED ABOUT ICE, FOR EXAMPLE.
HSI, WHO HANDLES, FOR EXAMPLE, ICE? WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ICE.
I MEAN, SO FAR WE HAVE NOT BEEN REQUESTED TO RUN ANY PLATES THROUGH FLOCK, UM, FOR ICE.
SO FLOCK DALLAS DPD HAS NOT USED FLOCK CAMERAS TO ASSIST ICE IN ANY WAY.
THEY HAVE NOT REQUESTED US TO RUN FLOCK FOR ICE.
WE HAVE NOT USED, HELPED THEM IN ANY, IN ANY WAY.
I'M SORRY, THAT'S MY QUESTION.
MY QUESTION IS HAVE, HAS DPD USED OUR FLOCK CAMERAS TO ASSIST ICE IN ANY WAY? YEAH, I'LL, I'LL, LET ME MAKE SURE I'M SAYING IT CLEAR HERE.
TO MY KNOWLEDGE, TO THIS DATE, WE HAVE NOT USED FLOCK TO HELP ICE LOCATE A PERSON.
UH, AND IF I UNDERSTAND THIS CORRECTLY, HALF OF DPD HAS ACCESS TO FLOCK CAMERAS.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND IF I UNDERSTOOD, UH, YOU EARLIER, ABOUT 3000 OF THOSE SEARCHES ARE DUPLICATIVE SEARCHES, CORRECT? YEAH, I'VE GOT THE NUMBERS.
WHICH UP? SO IT, THERE WAS ABOUT 3000 UNIQUE CASE NUMBERS ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE SEARCHES IN SEPTEMBER AND ABOUT 5,000 UNIQUE LICENSE PLATES THAT WERE SEARCHED THAT MADE UP THOSE 37,000.
THAT SEEMS INCREDIBLY INEFFICIENT.
YOU SAID MULTIPLE OFFICERS ARE DOING THE SAME SEARCH MULTIPLE DIFFERENT TIMES.
[01:35:01]
YOU PROVIDED AN EXAMPLE OF, UH, LOCK BEING HELPFUL IN I GUESS JUNE OF THIS YEAR, CORRECT? YES.NOW, THAT'S NOT TO SOLVE CRIME, CORRECT? NO.
THAT'S JUST A FEEL GOOD STORY FOR THE MORNING NEWS, RIGHT? SOMEONE LOST, WE WERE ABLE TO GET THEM HELP, CORRECT? YES.
BECAUSE IT'S USED NOT JUST FOR ARRESTING PEOPLE AND CRIME.
I THINK THAT'S MORE THAN, I MEAN, IF I WAS THAT PERSON'S GRANDSON OR, OR SON, I THINK THAT'S MORE THAN A FEEL GOOD STORY.
I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A, ANOTHER AGENCY ENTERED THIS INTO THE SYSTEM, AN ELDERLY PERSON, DIABETIC INSULIN DEPENDENT.
WE FOUND HER IN A HUNDRED DEGREE WEATHER ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S MORE THAN FIELD GOOD.
I, I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE Y'ALL CAN'T USE IT TO SOLVE ACTUAL CRIME.
WE HAD SOMEONE TELL US THEY HAD TO FIND THEIR OWN CAR WHEN IT SOUNDS LIKE COULD HAVE THAT.
I JUST WANTED TO THAT I I DIDN'T MEAN IT, I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THAT.
IT'S MORE THAN A FEELGOOD QUESTION TO ME BECAUSE I HAVE ELDERLY PEOPLE IN MY FAMILY AND THAT SOME OF 'EM SUFFER FROM MENTAL ILLNESS.
SO, I MEAN, IT'S, I UNDERSTAND HOW YOU FEEL.
YOU UNDERSTAND HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT WELL, SURE.
AND I'M, I'M NOT DISCOUNT, I'M NOT DISCOUNTING THAT AT ALL.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE KNOW IT'S MORE THAN FEEL GOOD IF IT'S SOMEBODY THAT'S RELATED TO YOU.
CAN, CAN I ASK? SO WE, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, I OVERSEE THE MISSING PERSONS UNIT AND WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LOCATE AN, A ELDERLY INDIVIDUAL WHO HAD ALZHEIMER'S, WHO GOT IN THEIR VEHICLE ONE MORNING AND JUST TRAVELED AND THEY TRAVELED ALL THE WAY TO ARKANSAS.
AND USING THE A LPR SYSTEM, WE WAS ABLE TO LOCATE THE VEHICLE THAT THE INDIVIDUAL, UH, THE ELDERLY PERSON WITH DEMENTIA HAD LEFT IN ARKANSAS.
UM, AND ASKED THE, UH, THE AUTHORITIES THERE TO, UH, GO TO THAT LOCATION WHERE THE VEHICLE LIGHT WAS LAST SEEN FOR FLOCK.
SO WE JUST DON'T USE IT FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS.
WE USE IT FOR, UH, ATTEMPTING TO RECOVER ENDANGERED, UH, ELDERLY AND, UH, INDIVIDUALS AS WELL.
SO GOING BACK TO JUNE, 2026 IS THE EXAMPLE THAT WAS PROVIDED.
DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCRETE EXAMPLE FROM JULY OR FLOCK WAS USED TO SOLVE A CRIME? UH, CAN YOU REPEAT THAT QUESTION? I'M SORRY.
MAYBE I DIDN'T HEAR THE FIRST PART.
UH, I'M REFERENCING SLIDE 21 IN YOUR PRESENTATION.
THAT'S NOT DALLAS PD, RIGHT? SO, CORRECT.
SO DO WE HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL THESE PEOPLE? YES, IT IS USEFUL.
HERE'S A EXAMPLE, LIKE THIS EXAMPLE THAT YOU PROVIDED FROM ANOTHER AGENCY.
DO WE HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW THEM? OH, THAT IT'S HELPED CITIZENS OF DALLAS OUTSIDE THE CITY OR JUST WITHIN THE CITY BESIDES THE, WITHIN THE CITY.
AND IF SO, WHY DID THAT NOT MAKE, GET ONTO THIS PRESENTATION? YEAH, SO, UM, WE HAVE ONE FROM JUNE, 2020, UH, JUNE 15TH, 2025.
UH, A COMPLAINANT LEFT HIS HOME, UH, FROM A, UH, ON WEST, UH, WESTMOUNT, UH, FLOCK WAS ABLE TO, UH, UH, LIKE I GAVE THE EXAMPLE, WAS ABLE TO, UH, FIND THAT INDIVIDUAL IN SPRINGS, DALE, SPRINGDALE, ARKANSAS.
IF YOU NEED SOME MORE DATA REGARDING THAT, I CAN HAVE MY MISSING PERSONS IN, UH, SUPERVISOR OR COMMANDER, UH, IDENTIFY THOSE AND GIVE THEM TO YOU.
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING MORE CURRENT AT, AT MY HANDS NOW? I DON'T, BUT I CAN GET THAT INFORMATION RESEARCH AND GET THAT INFORMATION.
WE USE FLOCK ON ALL OUR CRI CRITICAL MISSINGS, UH, WHEN INDIVIDUALS DRIVE AWAY FROM THEIR, UH, RESIDENCE.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, WHICH IS ALSO PART OF THIS? YES, I DO.
CHAGA HIGGINS, DISTRICT THREE.
UM, I SPOKE IN A PRESS CONFERENCE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I SAID IN MY COMMENTS WAS THAT, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE TO BE A CONTINUAL NARRATIVE THAT THE CITY OF DALLAS, NOT ONLY DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT, BUT THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY OF DALLAS, NEEDS TO EVOLVE AND MATURE.
ITS WAY THAT IT LOOKS AT PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WAS CHIEF? WHEN DID CHIEF CUOMO COME AND SPEAK TO US? INITIALLY IT WAS MONTHS AGO.
UM, WE ASKED ABOUT FLOCK CAMERAS THEN.
AND WE TALKED ABOUT WE WANTED SOME KIND OF REPORTING.
UM, FOR THE MOST PART, THE OFFICE AND THE BOARD OF OVERSIGHT HAS NOT BEEN INCLUDED IN ANY DECISIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE ABOUT HOW THIS MASS SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IS BEING USED IN OUR CITY.
ALL OF THESE BOARD MEMBERS HAVE QUESTIONS, AND THEY PROBABLY HAVE EVEN MORE.
SOME OF SOME OF US ARE TECH PROFESSIONALS.
SOME OF US ARE LEGAL PROFESSIONALS.
SOME OF US ARE CIVIL, SOCIAL JUSTICE PROFESSIONALS.
[01:40:02]
WE HAVE NOT BEEN CONSULTED OR EVEN ASKED FOR OUR OPINION ON WHAT TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND OVERSIGHT SHOULD LOOK LIKE FOR THIS MASS SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY.YOU CAN CALL IT WHATEVER YOU WANT TO FROM A PR STANDPOINT, BUT IT'S MASS SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY.
AND SO WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO HAVE ANY INPUT INTO THIS PROCESS AND THE DECISIONS THAT ARE BEING MADE.
AND I KNOW THAT DOESN'T REST ON MAJOR GREER AND THE TEAM HERE.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S KIND OF A DECISION THAT'S WITH THE COUNCIL CITY MANAGER.
BUT IT'S PROBLEMATIC AND WE ENJOY HAVING YOU GUYS HERE AND COOPERATE WITH US AND BE PRESENT.
UM, IT'S VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
'CAUSE THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THAT DID NOT HAPPEN AT ALL.
BUT IT IS TIME FOR US TO EVOLVE.
LIKE WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN SLOW DRIP DATA, SLOW DRIP INFORMATION ABOUT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES WHEN IT COMES TO THIS.
WHEN CHIEF KNEW THIS WAS COMING MONTHS AGO WHEN HE FIRST GOT HERE, LIKE THIS IS ISSUE IS NOT GONNA GO ANYWHERE.
IT'S GONNA CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY.
WE CAN GET AHEAD OF IT BY HAVING A REAL OVERSIGHT, LETTING YOUR OVERSIGHT OFFICE AND THE BOARD ACTUALLY BE A STAKEHOLDER IN HOW YOU MAKE DECISIONS IN THIS CONSTITUTIONAL POLICING JUST AIN'T ENOUGH.
Y'ALL, LIKE CONSTITUTIONAL POLICING IS YOUR INTERNAL METHODOLOGY ON HOW YOU AUDIT AND INVESTIGATE YOURSELF.
NO DIFFERENT THAN INTERNAL AFFAIRS.
WELL, SOME DIFFERENCE THAN INTERNAL AFFAIRS, BUT IT IS STILL YOU AUDITING YOU.
AND THERE HAS BEEN THIS IDEA PUT FORTH BY OUR CITY COUNCIL THAT THEY ARE GOING TO STAY OUT OF THE WAY AND JUST LET DPD AND FLOCK COME UP WITH THE POLICY.
I THINK THAT IS THE MOST CRAZY IDEA THAT I'VE EVER HEARD.
AND SO I GOT QUESTIONS TO MR. LESLIE OVER HERE SINCE, UH, YOU'RE SITTING HERE AND YOU'RE A REPRESENTATIVE FLOCK.
DO YOU THINK IT'S ETHICAL FOR DPD AND FLOCK SAFETY TO COME UP WITH THE GUARDRAILS AND POLICIES, PROTOCOLS THAT RELATED TO OVERSIGHT, TRANSPARENCY, AND PUBLIC TRUST FOR THE CITIZENS OF DALLAS? I THINK AS THE VENDOR AND AS THE CUSTOMER, I DEFINITELY THINK THERE SHOULD BE, UM, INVOLVEMENT WITH BOTH STAKEHOLDERS.
I CANNOT PARTAKE IN WHO ELSE DPD OR THE CITY OF DALLAS DECIDES TO IN, UH, TO JOIN THAT CONVERSATION.
BUT FROM A CUSTOMER VENDOR STANDPOINT, I DO AGREE THAT WE SHOULD BE HAND IN FOOT, UM, WITH DECIDING NOT ONLY PROPER RESPONSIBLE USE OF THE TECHNOLOGY, BUT ALSO PROPER GUARDRAILS AND POLICY.
AND, AND I'LL SAY, I'LL SAY ALSO, YOU KNOW, LIKE, THIS IS, THIS JUST AIN'T ENOUGH.
LIKE ALL OF THE BOARD MEMBERS HERE HAVE TALKED, AND WHAT THEY'RE SAYING IS THAT THE GRA THE THE SPECIFICITY AND THE GRANULARITY OF THE DATA THAT WE'RE GETTING DOESN'T QUANTIFY ANYTHING FOR US AS AN OVERSIGHT BOARD.
I'VE BEEN SAYING FROM THE BEGINNING, IF IT SOLVES CRIMES, PROVE IT.
IF IT, IF IT HAS WORKED, AND YOU GOT NUMBERS HERE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING UNDER THE NUMBERS TO SHOW THAT DATA.
AND I HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, MAJOR GREER, ANYTHING WE'VE ASKED YOU FOR IN THE PAST, WE'VE GOTTEN IT.
I HOPE THAT INSTEAD OF THIS BECOMING AN ISSUE THAT KEEPS BROILING IN OUR CITY AND KEEPS BROILING AROUND TO ELECTION TIME AND BECOMES A BIG ELECTION TIME ISSUE, THAT WE CAN BE PROACTIVE AND JUST GET AROUND THIS, HAVE YOUR OVERSIGHT INSTITUTION AND YOUR CITY ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS, GET THEM THE DATA THAT THEY NEED, INSTEAD OF TELLING US, WE NEED TO FILE OPEN RECORDS REQUEST TO GET THAT DATA, HAVE A REAL PARTNERSHIP WITH US, AND GIVE US THE INFORMATION WE NEED TO QUANTIFY THAT.
THIS ACTUALLY HELPS US THE WAY THAT YOU SAY IT.
WE ARE PAST THE TIME WHEN POLICE DEPARTMENTS SHOULD JUST BE ABLE TO TELL US, HEY, THIS WORKS AND WE SHOULD TRUST IT.
WE'RE, WE'RE PAST THAT THIS BOARD EXISTS BECAUSE THERE WERE SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
I, WE KEEP FORGETTING THAT, RIGHT? THE I'M NOT SAYING OFFICERS, I'M NOT SAYING THAT THERE AREN'T GOOD GUYS IN THERE.
I'M NOT SAYING, I'M SAYING POLICING SYSTEMICALLY IS A PROBLEM FOR PEOPLE TO LOOK LIKE ME IN THIS CITY, HISTORICALLY.
SO WHAT I'M SAYING IS, IS THAT'S OUR JOB.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE, IS BECAUSE THOSE PEOPLE DEMANDED THAT THIS EXISTS, RIGHT? SO IF WE'RE DOING OUR JOB, WE GOTTA GO DEEPER.
WE'RE NOT GETTING ENOUGH FROM YOU.
HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET THAT KIND OF INFORMATION FROM YOU AND WE CAN GET AN AGREEMENT FROM YOU GUYS TO, TO BE A PARTNER IN THAT.
AND WE ALSO ARE GONNA BE PUTTING PRESSURE ON THE CITY COUNCIL TO DO THEIR JOB, TO BE A STRONG COUNCIL WHILE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STRONG MAYORS, TO BE A STRONG COUNCIL AND ACTUALLY BACK US UP AND SAY THAT IT'S TIME FOR US TO EVOLVE THIS RELATIONSHIP AND GET THE DATA AND GET THE INFORMATION THAT WE NEED
[01:45:01]
AND THE TRANSPARENCY AND THE REPORTING THAT WE NEED.CAN I MAKE A, UH, CAN I SAY SOMETHING? SO, UM, I BELIEVE THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS DID A GOOD JOB ABOUT, FIRST OF ALL, CREATING THE DASHBOARD WITH REGARDS TO, UH, HOW THE FLOCK SYSTEM IS USED.
ALSO, THE DEPARTMENT HAS, UH, REACHED OUT AND SPOKEN TO EVERY MEDIA GROUP IN THIS AREA AND THE NATIONAL MEDIA.
AND EVERY, IN EVERY INTERVIEW I'VE HAD WITH THE MEDIA, THEY HAVE TOLD US THAT THEY HAVE GONE THROUGH THE MILLIONS OF, OF DATA THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THE OPEN RECORDS REQUEST.
SO THEY'VE ALREADY RESEARCHED IT, UH, AS WELL, UH, ON THE DATA.
AND WE, WE DID ANSWER QUESTIONS REGARDING THINGS THAT THEY HAVE FOUND AND WAS ABLE TO SHOW THEM WHAT HAD OCCURRED ON THAT.
AND ALSO, AS A COMMANDER OF THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS GROUP, I TRULY BELIEVE, UH, AND IT'S FACTUAL THAT WE HAVE SOLVED REAL CRIME AND MURDERS IN MA A MATTER OF HOURS, UM, AND GAVE CLOSURE TO THE VICTIM AND JUSTICE TO THE VICTIM AND THE FAMILIES QUICKLY.
UM, WHERE IF WE DID NOT HAVE THIS A LPR TECHNOLOGY, IT COULD BE MONTHS, WEEKS, MONTHS, OR MAY NOT HAVE EVER SOLVED THAT CRIME.
AND SO I, I THINK THAT THE DEPARTMENT HAS DONE A, A GOOD JOB OF GETTING OUT IN FRONT OF IT.
I THINK ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE FEW DEPARTMENTS IN THE COUNTRY HAVE GOT OUT IN FRONT OF IT WHERE WE'VE CAME TO COUNSEL YOU, THE MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC, AND EXPLAINED HOW THIS, HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS, WHAT GUARDRAILS WE HAVE IN PLACE.
AND SO IF THERE WAS AN ISSUE, UH, WITH SOMETHING, UM, MY COMMANDERS, UH, REVIEW THAT, UM, AND GET EXPLANATIONS.
AND SO, UM, I THINK THE IT SIDE OF THAT IS CREATED TO WHERE THE AUDIT PROCESS IS MORE EASY.
UM, AND ALSO THE CONSTITUTIONALITY POLICING UNIT IS REVIEWING OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES AND HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS AND ALL THAT.
UM, AND I, BUT I JUST THINK THAT WE'VE BEEN OUT FRONT OF THAT IN, UH, FROM ANY OTHER LARGE AGENCY IN THE COUNTRY THAT WE CAME OUT.
WE'VE TOLD PEOPLE HOW IT WORKS, WHAT WE'RE DOING, THE, THE STATISTICS.
UM, AND I KNOW IT HAS SOLVED A REAL CRIME.
IT'S BEEN A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO THAT.
I'LL SAY, SAY IT AGAIN, BUT WE CAN'T QUANTIFY THAT.
ONE OTHER, I GOT A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WRAP THIS UP BECAUSE WE GOT TWO OTHER, UH, YES FOLKS, WE HAVE TO HEAR FROM THREE OTHERS WE HAVE TO HEAR FROM.
SO PER PROCEED, ALL RIGHT, WE KEEP, WE CONTINUE TO HEAR THAT FLOCK DOESN'T, UH, THAT FLOCK TECHNOLOGY DOES NOT.
ARE YOU AWARE OF THE SENATE JUDICIARY HEARING THAT HAPPENED? YES, SIR.
CAN YOU KIND OF GIVE ME A, A A A QUICK BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT, WHEN PRESSED ABOUT FLOCK TECHNOLOGY AND IF IT RECORDS VIDEO AND, AND, UH, WHAT WAS, WHAT WAS THE RESPONSE TO THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE? SO WHAT I CAN SAY IS WE DID NOT HAVE A FLOCK REPRESENTATIVE THERE.
SO I DON'T, PART OF YOUR QUESTION, I CAN'T PARTICULARLY ANSWER.
WHAT I CAN SAY IS WE WERE AND HAVE BRIEFED SENATOR, UM, HAWLEY ON HOW OUR FLOCK CAMERAS OPERATE, UM, AS LAW, AS WELL AS THE GUARDRAILS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE AND THAT WE SUGGEST FOR STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO WHEN PRESSED IN THAT SENATE JUDICIARY SEPTEMBER 26TH, I'M TALKING ABOUT, UM, WAS IT NOT TRUE THAT FLOCK DID ADMIT THAT IT CAN CAPTURE VIDEO? JUST, JUST, JUST TO MAKE SURE I'M CLARIFYING WHAT I THINK YOUR QUESTION IS.
THERE WAS A MISREPRESENTATION ON WHAT I THINK SENATOR HAWLEY THOUGHT, UM, THAT THE A LPR SYSTEM CAN DO VERSUS OUR LIVE VIDEO CAMERAS.
TO BE CLEAR, UM, TO ARTICULATE THAT HERE, YOU CANNOT SEARCH FOR PEOPLE IN OUR A OPR SYSTEM, WHICH THAT IS WHAT SENATOR HAWLEY CONFLATED IN THE MESSAGING THERE, WHICH JUST WANNA BE CLEAR, CLEAR THAT THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE.
NO, TO REITERATE, AGAIN, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO SEARCH FOR PEOPLE IN THE A-P-R-A-L-P SYSTEM.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO CAPTURE VIDEO? YES, WE DO HAVE LIVE VIDEO CAMERAS.
THEY PRESSED THEM ON THAT AND THEY SAID THAT.
SO THAT IS A NARRATIVE THAT WE CONTINUALLY HEAR IN THE MARKETING, NOT JUST WITH DPD ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
IT CAN CAPTURE VIDEO, RIGHT, MA? AS A MATTER OF FACT, UH, THERE ARE SEVERAL MEDIA OUTLETS IN RESEARCH ENTITIES THAT HAVE DONE THEIR OWN INDEPENDENT TESTS, THAT HAVE FOUND THAT YOU CAN CAPTURE VIDEO AND, AND YOU CAN RECOGNIZE FACES WITH THE TECHNOLOGY AS WELL.
IS THAT CORRECT? ARE YOU AWARE OF THOSE? THAT IS INCORRECT.
WE HAVE AN ECOSYSTEM OF DIFFERENT PRODUCTS.
SPECIFICALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE TODAY IS A LPR.
SPECIFICALLY WHAT THAT HEARING WAS ABOUT WAS A LPR SPECIFICALLY LIVE VIDEO CAMERAS IS IN OUR ECOSYSTEM OF PRODUCTS THAT WE ALSO DO SEARCH.
[01:50:01]
APRS DO NOT CAPTURE VIDEO? THAT IS CORRECT.THEY DON'T HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO CAPTURE VIDEO? THAT IS CORRECT.
IT IS A POINT IN TIME STILL IMAGE.
A LIVE VIDEO CAMERA IS LIVE VIDEO CAMERA SUCH AS A-C-C-T-V CAMERA.
UH, THANK YOU MR. HIGGINS AND MR. LESLIE.
I'M GONNA HAVE TO CUT YOU OFF.
IT IS 7 22 AND WE HAVE OTHER PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE TO GET TO.
UM, OKAY, MY PROBLEM IS THAT AS THE ACTING CHAIR, UH, I HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS, BUT I'M NOT GONNA ASK THEM NOW, UM, BECAUSE I'M THE ACTING CHAIR, I'M GONNA MOVE ON SO WE CAN GET TO THE NEXT, UH, INDIVIDUALS THAT WE NEED TO HEAR FROM.
UM, YOU ALL KNOW THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE HEARING FROM US INDIVIDUALLY AND COLLECTIVELY YOU WILL BE HEARING FROM US.
WE'VE GOT QUESTIONS AND WE NEED TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS PROCESS.
AND WE HAVE NOT BEEN, YOU HAVE GIVEN US REPORTS, BUT WE HAVE NOT BEEN INCLUDED IN THE PROCESS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, GENTLEMEN.
[VI. The History of ALPR, Its Use in Law Enforcement, Civil Rights, and Policy Balance]
WE'RE GOING, I'M GOING TO TURN THE MEETING OVER TO, UH, DR.J ERIC HOLMAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AND OF GRADUATE PROGRAM COORDINATOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS OF DALLAS FOR HIS PRESENTATION ON THE HISTORY OF A LPR.
ITS USE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND POLICY BALANCE.
DR. COLEMAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES.
UH, THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME THIS EVENING.
I DO WANT TO SAY THAT THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN MY COMMENTS ARE MINE AND MINE ALONE.
THEY DO NOT REPRESENT MY EMPLOYER, UH, OR ANY ORGANIZATION FOR WHICH I'M AFFILIATED WITH.
UH, I WANNA THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU THIS EVENING.
AND BEFORE I BEGIN, I WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR THAT I'M SPEAKING IN MY PERSONAL CAPACITY.
MY PURPOSE THIS EVENING IS TO PROVIDE A SHORT AND BALANCED OVERVIEW OF THE AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER TECHNOLOGY, COMMONLY REFERRED TO OR CALLED THE A LPR, AND SPECIFICALLY THE, UH, FLOCK, UH, PLATFORM SYSTEM.
I WANNA MAKE THREE PRIMARY POINTS.
FIRST, LICENSE PLATE READER TECHNOLOGY, UH, DID NOT BEGIN WITH FLOCK.
SECOND, MODERN A LPR SYSTEMS PROVIDE REAL INVESTIGATIVE VALUE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.
AND THIRD, THE SCALE AND SEARCHABILITY OF MODERN NETWORKS REQUIRE STRONGER GOVERNANCE THAN OLDER STANDALONE CAMERA SYSTEMS. MY GOAL IS NOT TO ARGUE FOR UNRESTRICTED SURVEILLANCE OR BY ABANDONING THIS TECHNOLOGY.
I BELIEVE THERE IS A WORKABLE MIDDLE GROUND THAT PRESERVES LEGITIMATE LAW ENFORCEMENT USES WHILE PLACING ENFORCEABLE LIMITS AROUND RETENTION, ACCESS, SHARING, AND MISUSE.
UH, LET'S BEGIN WITH WHAT AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS ACTUALLY DOES OR DO.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT HAS CHANGED.
A LPR AUTOMATES SOMETHING A POLICE OFFICER HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO DO, AND THAT'S OBSERVE A LICENSE PLATE DISPLAYED ON A VEHICLE ON A PUBLIC ROADWAY.
A CAMERA CAPTURES AN IMAGE OF THE VEHICLE AND ITS LICENSE PLATES.
OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION CONVERTS THAT IMAGE INTO LETTERS AND NUMBERS THAT CAN BE SEARCHED ELECTRONICALLY.
THE SYSTEM MAY RECORD THE DATE, TIME, CAMERA, LOCATION, AND CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VEHICLE.
THAT INFORMATION CAN, AND THEN CAN AND CAN BE, I'M SORRY, CAN BE RE UH, COMPARED AGAINST A HOT LIST.
FOR EXAMPLE, STOLEN VEHICLES SEARCH LATER AS A PART OF AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION.
THE IMPORTANT DISTINCTION IS THE MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES.
UH, CHANGE IS NOT THE ABILITY TO SEE THE LICENSE PLATE.
IT IS THE ABILITY TO COLLECT THESE OBSERVATIONS AT ENORMOUS SCALE, RETAIN THEM, SEARCH THEM ALMOST INSTANTANEOUSLY, AND POTENTIALLY CONNECT OBSERVATIONS FROM MULTIPLE LOCATIONS AND JURISDICTIONS.
THAT DISTINCTION BETWEEN OBSERVATION AND AGGREGATION IS CENTRAL TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS DISCUSSION.
AUTOMATIC LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION DATES BACK TO THE 1970S WITH EARLY SYSTEMS DEVELOPED IN THE UK AND OPERATIONAL APPLICATIONS APPEARING BY THE EARLY 1980S IN THE UNITED STATES AS DIG AS DIGITAL CAMERA,
[01:55:01]
COMPUTER STORAGE AND OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION IMPROVED DURING THE 1990S AND TWO THOUSANDS, THESE SYSTEMS BECAME LESS EXPENSIVE AND MUCH MORE PRACTICAL.IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT AUTOMATED VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION HAS NEVER BEEN LIMITED JUST TO POLICE WORK.
WE HAVE USED SIMILAR TECHNOLOGY FOR YEARS IN TOLL WASTE SYSTEMS, PARKING FACILITIES, AIRPORTS, UNIVERSITIES, GATED COMMUNITIES, TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, AND OTHER TYPES OF PRIVATE BUSINESSES.
TOLLING IS A, IS AN ESPECIALLY USEFUL EXAMPLE.
TOLL AGENCIES HAVE LONG USED ELECTRONIC TRANSPONDERS ALONG WITH CAMERAS AND LICENSE PLATE IDENTIFICATION FOR VEHICLES WITHOUT FUNCTIONING, FUNCTIONING TOLL TAGS AND FOR VIDEO TOLLING.
SO THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT OF ELECTRONICALLY IDENTIFYING VEHICLES IS WELL ESTABLISHED.
WHAT HAS CHANGED IS OUR ABILITY TO PLACE THESE OBSERVATIONS INTO CLOUD-BASED DATABASES THAT ARE SEARCHABLE ACROSS INCREASINGLY LARGE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.
NEXT, THE BROADER HISTORY IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE FLOCK DID NOT INVENT LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION.
WHAT FLOCK CHANGE WAS THE NETWORK SURROUNDING IT.
FLOCK SAFETY WAS FOUNDED IN 2017 AND HELPED POPULARIZE A DIFFERENT A LPR DEPLOYMENT MODEL.
INSTEAD OF RELYING PRIMARILY ON EXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT MOUNTED ON PATROL VEHICLES OR ISOLATED FIXED CAMERA SYSTEMS, FLOCK USES RELATIVELY COMPACT ROADSIDE CAMERAS CONNECTED TO A CLOUD PLATFORM.
THAT PLATFORM MAKES VEHICLE OBSERVATIONS SEARCHABLE.
INVESTIGATORS MAY BE ABLE TO SEARCH NOT ONLY FOR KNOWN LICENSE PLATES, BUT ALSO FOR CHARACTERISTICS OF A VEHICLE WHERE THE FULL PLATE IS UNKNOWN.
NOW, FOR EXAMPLE, AN INVESTIGATOR MIGHT BE LOOKING FOR A PARTICULAR TYPE OF COLOR OF A VEHICLE ASSOCIATED WITH AN OFFENSE, BUT PERHAPS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT IS THE NETWORK EFFECT.
WHEN AGENCY SHARE ACCESS, UH, AN OBSERVATION FROM A CAMERA IN ONE JURISDICTION MAY CONTRIBUTE TO AN INVESTIGATION OCCURRING SOMEWHERE ELSE, THAT CREATES TREMENDOUS INVESTIGATIVE POTENTIAL.
BUT IT ALSO MEANS THAT A SYSTEM THAT APPEARS TO CONSIST OF INDIVIDUAL LOCAL CAMERAS CAN POTENTIALLY FUNCTION AS PART OF A MUCH LARGER SURVEILLANCE NETWORK.
THAT'S IS WHY GOVERNANCE BECOMES INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT AS THE NETWORK EXPANDS.
NEXT, THE NEXT QUESTION IS WHY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WANT THIS CAPABILITY IN THE FIRST PLACE? THERE ARE CLEAR, LEGITIMATE LAW ENFORCEMENT APPLICATIONS FOR THIS TECHNOLOGY.
A STOLEN VEHICLE CAN GENERATE AN ALERT WHEN IT PASSES A CAMERA.
INVESTIGATORS WORKING A HOMICIDE, ROBBERY, KIDNAPPING, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, OR OTHER SERIOUS OFFENSE MAY DETERMINE WHETHER THE VEHICLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE INVESTIGATION WAS OBSERVED NEAR A RELEVANT LOCATION.
A LPR CAN ALSO ASSIST WITH AMBER ALERTS AND MISSING OR ENDANGERED PERSONS.
ANOTHER MAJOR ADVANTAGE IS SPEED.
INSTEAD OF INVESTIGATORS MANUALLY REVIEWING HOURS OF SURVEILLANCE VIDEO FROM MULTIPLE LOCATIONS, APRS CAN USE DOCUMENTED VEHICLE LEADS TO SIGNIFICANTLY NARROW THE SEARCH.
IT CAN ALSO BE VALUABLE WHEN INVESTIGATORS HAVE ONLY PARTIAL PLAY, UH, PARTIAL PLAYED OR A GENERAL VEHICLE DESCRIPTION.
SO I WOULD EMPHASIZE TO THE BOARD THAT THE QUESTION IS NOT WHETHER THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS PUBLIC SAFETY VALUE.
THE POLICY QUESTION IS HOW WE PRESERVE THOSE HIGH VALUE INVESTIGATIVE USES WITHOUT CREATING UNRESTRICTED MECHANISM, UNRESTRICTED MECHANISMS FOR TRACKING ORDINARY CITIZENS WHO ARE NOT SUSPECTED OF WRONGDOING.
AND THAT BRINGS US TO WHAT I BELIEVE IS THE CENTRAL CIVIL LIBERTIES ISSUE, WHICH IS AGGREGATION.
THE STRONGEST CIVIL LIBERTIES CONCERN IS NOT A LICENSE PLATE ITSELF, IS THAT IT IS PRIVATE, IT ISN'T.
A LICENSE PLATE IS INTENTIONALLY DISPLAYED ON A VEHICLE OPERATING ON A PUBLIC ROADWAY.
THE CONCERN IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN INDIVIDUAL OBSERVATIONS ARE AGGREGATED? ONE OBSERVATION OF A VEHICLE AT ONE INTERSECTION TELLS THE GOVERNMENT RELATIVE, LITTLE, LITTLE ABOUT SOMEONE'S LIFE.
BUT THOUSANDS OFOP UH, OBSERVATIONS RETAINED OVER TIME IN SEARCHABLE ACROSS A LARGE NETWORK, CAN POTENTIALLY REVEAL, UH, LIFE PATTERNS.
THOSE PATTERNS MIGHT SHOW WHERE SOMEONE WORKS, WHERE THEY WORSHIP, WHETHER THEY REGULARLY VISIT A MEDICAL FACILITY, WHETHER THEY ATTEND POLITICAL MEETINGS OR DEMONSTRATIONS, OR WHAT ORGANIZATIONS THEY'RE
[02:00:01]
ASSOCIATED WITH.THIS IS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT FROM A POLICE OFFICER SIMPLY OBSERVING A VEHICLE ON A PUBLIC STREET.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW SURROUNDING LARGE SCALE AGGREGATE LOCATION INFORMATION CONTINUES TO DEVELOP.
AND FOR THIS REASON, I BELIEVE RESPONSIBLE PUBLIC POLICY SHOULD FOCUS PRIMARILY ON THE GOVERNMENT'S ABILITY TO RETAIN, SEARCH, AGGREGATE, AND SHARE THIS INFORMATION NOT SIMPLY ON WHETHER THE PHYSICAL CAMERA SHOULD EXIST.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THERE ARE PRACTICAL SAFEGUARDS THAT CAN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THESE RISKS WITHOUT ELIMINATING, UH, THE INVESTIGATIVE VALUE.
CURRENT POLICIES ALREADY CONTAIN SEVERAL IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS.
THE CUSTOMER CONTROLS AUTHORIZED USERS AND THE USER'S ACTIVITY AND SEARCHES CAN BE AUDITED.
FLOCK'S CURRENT LPR POLICY ESTABLISHED A SEVEN DAY DEFAULT RETENTION PERIOD.
ALTHOUGH CUSTOMER POLICY AND APPLICABLE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS CAN AFFECT RETENTION, ANOTHER IMPORTANT POINT IS THAT FLOCK ITSELF ACKNOWLEDGES THAT COMPUTER GENERATED LICENSE PLATE TRANSLATIONS CAN OCCUR, UH, CAN OCCASIONALLY, UH, BE INACCURATE.
THAT MEANS THAT AN A LPR ALERT SHOULD NOT AUTOMATICALLY BECOME THE BASIS FOR ENFORCEMENT ACTION WITHOUT VERIFICATION.
FLOCK IS ALSO ANNOUNCED ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS INVOLVING STRONGER AUTHENTICATION CASE CODES, AUDIT ASSISTANCE, AND TIGHTER CONTROLS OVER DATA SHARING.
THOSE ARE POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS, BUT WHAT I WOULD CAUTION AGAINST IS ALLOWING THE VENDOR'S POLICY TO BECOME THE PUBLIC PO.
UH, THE PUBLIC AGENCY'S POLICY VENDOR POLICIES CAN CHANGE.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY SHOULD ULTIMATELY REST UPON THE RULES ADOPTED, ENFORCED, AND PUBLICLY EXPLAINED BY THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY USING THE TECHNOLOGY.
SO WHAT I SHOULD, SO WHAT SHOULD DALLAS REQUIRE BEYOND THE SAFEGUARDS PROVIDED BY THE VENDOR, I RECOMMEND WHAT I CALL AUTHORIZED INVESTIGATIVE USE MODEL.
THE FIRST REQUIREMENT IS STRAIGHTFORWARD.
EVERY HISTORICAL A LPR SEARCH SHOULD HAVE A LEGITIMATE LAW ENFORCEMENT PURPOSE.
AND EXCEPT FOR NARROWLY DEFINED EMERGENCIES SHOULD BE CONNECTED TO A CASE OR AN INCIDENT.
NUMBER SECOND, ROUTINE OBSERVATIONS INVOLVE UNINVOLVED MOTORISTS SHOULD BE RETAINED ONLY BRIEFLY.
IF A PARTICULAR RECORD BECOMES EVIDENCE IN A CRIMINAL, AN ACTIVE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION, THAT RECORD CAN BE MOVED INTO EVIDENTIARY STORAGE AND RETAINED ACCORDING TO NORMAL EVIDENCE RETENTION REQUIREMENTS.
THIRD, A LPR ALERTS SHOULD NEVER SUBSTITUTE FOR AN OFFICER'S VERIFICATION BEFORE A STOP SEARCH OR ARREST, THE OFFICER SHOULD REASONABLY CONFIRM THE PLATE, THE ISSUING STATE VEHICLE DESCRIPTION, AND CONTINUING VALIDITY OF THE UNDERLYING ALERT.
FOURTH, THE POLICY SHOULD EXPRESSLY PROHIBIT PERSONAL SEARCHES.
OFFICERS SHOULD NOT BE SEARCHING FAMILY MEMBERS, FORMER PARTNERS, NEIGHBORS, CELEBRITIES, PUBLIC OFFICIALS, OR ANYONE ELSE FOR REASONS UNRELATED TO LEGITIMATE POLICE BUSINESS.
THE POLICY SHOULD ALSO PROHIBIT USING A LPR SOLELY TO MONITOR LAWFUL POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS, JOURNALISTIC, OR OTHER PROTECTED FIRST AMENDMENT ACTIVITY.
AND FINALLY, ACCESS BY OUTSIDE AGENCY SHOULD BE DELIBERATE AND DOCUMENTED RATHER THAN TREATED AS UNLIMITED NETWORK ACCESS.
NEXT, BUT WRITTEN RULES ARE MEANINGFUL ONLY IF AN AGENCY CAN DEMONSTRATE THAT THOSE RULES ARE ACTUALLY BEING FOLLOWED.
ACCOUNTABILITY SHOULD BE DESIGNED INTO THE SYSTEM FROM THE BEGINNING.
I RECOMMEND THAT AUDIT LOGS BE RETAINED SIGNIFICANTLY LONGER THAN ROUTINE LICENSE PLATE OBSERVATIONS.
WHY? BECAUSE AFTER THE PLATE DATA HAS BEEN DELETED, WE SHOULD STILL BE ABLE TO DETERMINE WHO SEARCHED THE SYSTEM WHEN THEY SEARCHED IT.
WHY DPD SHOULD CONDUCT RANDOM AUDITS AS WELL AS TARGETED AUDITS.
WHEN THERE IS A COMPLAINT OR SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY, EMERGENCY SEARCHES SHOULD RECEIVE AFTER THE FACT SUPERVISORY APPROVAL AND REVIEW.
I WOULD ALSO RECOMMEND AN ANNUAL PUBLIC ALERT REPORT OR A LPR REPORT.
THAT REPORT SHOULD PROVIDE AGGREGATE INFORMATION SUCH AS THE NUMBER OF CAMERAS, SEARCHES, ALERTS, STOLEN VEHICLES RECOVERED, MISSING PERSONS LOCATED OUTSIDE AGENCIES GRANTED ACCESS AND CONFIRMED POLICY VIOLATIONS.
NONE OF THIS REQUIRES RELEASING SENSITIVE INFORMATION ABOUT ACTIVE INVESTIGATIONS.
I SIMPLY GIVE THE PUBLIC AND THIS BOARD ENOUGH.
I I SIMPLY GIVE THIS PUBLIC AND THE BOARD ENOUGH INFORMATION TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE PROGRAM IS PRODUCING LEGITIMATE PUBLIC SAFETY BENEFITS AND WHETHER THE
[02:05:01]
RULES ARE BEING FOLLOWED.NEXT, THE PRINCIPLE I RECOMMEND IS STRAIGHTFORWARD.
USE A LPR TO INVESTIGATE CRIME, NOT TO CONDUCT GENERALIZED SURVEILLANCE OF LAWFUL ACTIVITY.
DALLAS CAN RECOGNIZE A LPR AS A LEGITIMATE INVESTIGATIVE TOOL WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY RECOGNIZING THAT AGGREGATE VEHICLE LOCATION INFORMATION CAN IMPLICATE LEGITIMATE PRIVATE AND CIVIL LIBERTY INTEREST USE.
USE SHOULD THEREFORE BE LIMITED TO DOCUMENTED OFFICIAL PURPOSES.
THERE SHOULD BE SHORT ONE YEAR LESS RETENTION CONTROLLED SHARING, HUMAN VERIFICATION, AUDIBLE ACCESS, AND EXPLICIT PROTECTIONS AGAINST MONITORING INDIVIDUALS SOLELY BECAUSE OF LAWFUL SPEECH, RELIGION, POLITICAL ACTIVITY, JOURNALISM OR ASSOCIATION.
THIS APPROACH DOES NOT REQUIRE US TO DECLARE THE TECHNOLOGY INHERENTLY GOOD OR INHERENTLY BAD.
THE REAL QUESTION IS WHETHER THE POLICY, SUPERVISION AND ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS SURROUNDING THE TOOL ARE PROPORTIONAL TO ITS CAPABILITIES.
UH, I CLOSE, UH, WITH ONE DISTINCTION.
I CLOSE WITH ONE DISTINCTION I HOPE THE BOARD KEEPS IN MIND AS IT EVALUATES.
THE DALLAS PROGRAM LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION HAS EXISTED FOR DECADES.
WHAT IS NEW IS THE SCALE AT WHICH MODERN SYSTEMS CAN COLLECT, SEARCH, AGGREGATE, AND SHARE VEHICLE OBSERVATION.
THAT SCALE CREATES GENUINE INVESTIGATIVE VALUE, PARTICULARLY IN SERIOUS CRIME INVESTIGATIONS, STOLEN VEHICLE CASES AND EFFORTS TO LOCATE MISSING OR ENDANGERED PERSONS.
BUT THE SAME SCALE CREATES LEGITIMATE CONCERNS ABOUT LONG-TERM MOVEMENT, TRACKING, IMPROPER SEARCHES, AND OVERLY BROAD DATA SHARING.
DALLAS THEREFORE HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ESTABLISH A BALANCED MODEL, PRESERVE THE TECHNOLOGY FOR DOCUMENTED, DOCUMENTED LEGITIMATE LAW ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES, WHILE ESTABLISHING ENFORCEABLE LIMITS ON RETENTION, ACCESS SHARING AND MISUSE.
IF THERE'S ONE POINT I WOULD LEAVE WITH THIS BOARD, IT'S THIS, THE LEGITIMACY OF A LPR DEPENDS LESS ON THE CAMERA THAN ON THE RULES BEHIND THE CAMERA.
I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT, UH, THIS INFORMATION TO YOU TONIGHT, AND I WOULD BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT, THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OF THE BOARD FOR DR. COLEMAN? PROCEED.
UM, HOPEFULLY JUST ONE QUESTION,
UM, SO ARE THERE, UM, CITIES OR OTHER TOWNSHIPS, WHATEVER, WHO HAVE REALLY GOTTEN GOOD POLICIES AROUND THE FLOCK CAMERAS AS YOU'RE MAKING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS? ARE THERE PLACES WE COULD LOOK TO SEE WHAT THEIR POLICIES LOOK LIKE? HOW LONG WERE THEIR RETENTIONS? THOSE KINDS OF THINGS THAT YOU CAN RECOMMEND? I THINK, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY MOST OF THE CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY, POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES ARE VERY SENSITIVE TO THE ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN RAISED RECENTLY AROUND, UH, FLOCK CAMERAS.
AND, AND OF COURSE WE HAVE BECOME AWARE MORE, UH, ACUTELY HERE, UH, IN THE METROPLEX ABOUT THE DIFFERENT CITIES, PLANO AND OTHERS THAT HAVE EVEN DECIDED TO CEASE AND DESIST FROM USING THEM CURRENTLY, UH, MOST CITIES HAVE NOT THAT I HAVE SEEN AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE, PUBLISH WHAT THEIR POLICIES ARE.
THEY STILL MAY BE TRYING TO THINK THROUGH WHAT THOSE POLICIES ARE GONNA BE.
IT WAS INTERESTING TO SEE THAT THE GOVERNOR HAD PAUSED THE FUNDING OF THESE FLOCK CAMERAS.
SO IT IS MY THINKING THAT IT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT THE LEGISLATURE MAY TAKE UP AND STATUTORILY CREATE SAFEGUARDS AROUND THE, SO THAT EVERYBODY'S ON THE SAME PAGE STATEWIDE, MAYBE NATIONWIDE.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT COULD HAPPEN BECAUSE THERE'S JUST SO MUCH CONCERN AROUND POTENTIAL A ABUSE AND MISUSE, YOU KNOW, AND ON BALANCE.
IT'S, IT'S AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT CRIME FIGHTING TOOL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, YEAH.
JONATHAN MAPLES DISTRICT TOO, UM, BY GEORGE, DR. COLEMAN, I THINK YOU GOT IT.
ARE, ARE YOU BY CHANCE A CONSULTANT? I'M NOT
AND JUST LOOKING AT WHAT YOU JUST PRESENTED JUST WITH A FEW TWEETS HERE AND THERE, WE'RE NOT FUSSING AND FIGHTING.
[02:10:01]
UH, BECAUSE THIS PRESENTATION HELPS.UM, I'VE BEEN AROUND LONG ENOUGH AND I LIVE IN A PART OF THIS CITY WHERE I KNOW THE CAMERAS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AROUND, AND THOSE CAMERAS HAVE BEEN, UH, SHARED WITH THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THEY STILL ARE.
IN JUST CERTAIN POCKETS OF COMMUNITIES NORTH OF THE TRINITY RIVER.
BUT ALSO, I'M AWARE ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT IN CERTAIN AREAS SOUTH OF THE TRINITY, THESE CAMERAS ARE BEING OVERUSED.
AND, UM, THE DATA'S THERE TO PROVE IT.
WE JUST NEED TO SIT DOWN WITH THE DATA AND COME UP WITH A COMMON SENSE PLAN.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE WARD, FROM DERRICK PEGRAM, DISTRICT SIX? I WAS, UH, I NOTICED, UH, DID YOU, ON YOUR PERSONAL OPINION, COME UP WITH WHAT COULD BE A PUNITIVE FOR MISUSE OF, OF FLOCKS, WHICH COULD BE RECOMMENDED TO THEM AS WELL? SO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT IN THE SENSE IF, IF A POLICE OFFICER MISUSED IT, MISUSES THE, THE TECHNOLOGY, WHAT SHOULD BE THE, THE PUNITIVE? UH, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LEAVE THAT TO THE DEPARTMENTS OR THE LEGISLATURE TO DECIDE MORE LIKE THE LEGISL LAW BECAUSE THE DEPARTMENTS SEEM TO NOT THINK IT'S A SERIOUS ISSUE.
I, UH, YOU KNOW, I HATE TO, I, I'M NOT SURE THAT I FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE DEPARTMENT'S POLICY, SO I WOULDN'T WANNA COMMENT THE POLICY FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD OR FROM WHAT THEY PRESENTED WAS A SLAP ON THE WRIST COULD BE THE LOWEST FIRING AGAINST THE HIGHEST.
BUT IF IT CAUSES SOMEONE TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY HURT SOMEBODY WITH THEIR ABUSE OF POWER, THAT'S DETRIMENT TO, TO SOCIETY.
FROM WHAT THEY'RE SAYING, THAT'S A SLAP ON THE HAND.
EVEN IF HE LOSE HIS JOB, HE DID THE DAMAGE AND HE CAN GO SOMEWHERE ELSE AND WORK FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND.
I WOULD AGAIN, DEFER BACK TO THE AGENCIES AS TO HOW THEY HANDLE EMPLOYEE MATTERS.
UH, BUT I WOULD CERTAINLY AGREE THAT THE POLICY SHOULD INCLUDE SOME SORT OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION DEPENDING ON THE NATURE AND THE EXTENT OF THE MISUSE.
I WOULD EVEN SAY NOT EVEN THE NATURE OF JUST THE FACT THAT IT HAPPENED.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? GREAT MICROPHONE.
MARY ELLEN SMITH, DISTRICT 11.
I JUST APPRECIATE THE, UH, KNOWLEDGE, MORE KNOWLEDGE ON SOME OF THIS STUFF THAT I DIDN'T KNOW.
WELL, I I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE AND TO, TO VISIT WITH YOU ABOUT THIS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT ISSUE.
WELL, ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION YOU HAVE GIVEN US, I WON'T SAY MORE THAN, UH, OTHERS HAVE, BUT YOU'VE GIVEN US A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF INFORMATION TO WORK WITH.
AND, UH, YOU WILL IN ALL LIKELIHOOD BE HEARING FROM US AGAIN,
[VII. Civil Liberties, Privacy Implications, and Oversight Considerations Related to ALPR]
ALL RIGHT.I AM NOW GONNA TURN THE MEETING OVER TO MR. NICK HUDSON, SENIOR MANAGER OF POLICY ADVOCACY AT THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF TEXAS, FOR HIS PRESENTATION ON THE PRIVACY IMPLICATIONS AND OVERSIGHT CONSIDERATIONS RELATED TO A LPR.
MR. HUDSON, THE FLOOR IS YOURS, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THE DELAY.
IT COULD HAVE BEEN LONGER, TRUST ME.
I THINK DR. COLEMAN DID A REALLY GOOD JOB.
I WAS A REALLY BALANCED PRESENTATION.
UM, I, MY NAME IS NICK HUDSON.
I'M A SENIOR MANAGER OF POLICY AND ADVOCACY AT THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF TEXAS.
IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH US, WE'RE A NON-PARTISAN NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION.
UM, WE OPERATE ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS.
WE HAVE OFFICES IN DALLAS AND HOUSTON.
OUR HEADQUARTERS IS IN HOUSTON.
UM, AND I'M GONNA TRY TO JUST, UH, COVER WHAT APRS DO, WHY WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THEM, AND THEN A FEW OF THE GUARDRAILS WE THINK ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.
UH, AND I THINK THAT DR. COLEMAN TOUCHED ON A FEW OF THOSE WERE LARGELY IN AGREEMENT.
I, I WANT TO SAY AT THE OUTSET, THOUGH, A YEAR OF RETENTION IS AN EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF TIME.
I THINK DALLAS IS REALLY OUTTA STEP WITH MOST CITIES IN THE WAY IT DOES THAT.
AND SO, UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE I HIT ON THAT.
SO, UH, I ALSO JUST WANNA SAY MY FOCUS IS ON GOVERNMENT USE ONLY.
YOU HEARD ABOUT PRIVATE USE CASES, HOAS, UM, WHEN, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE FOURTH AMENDMENT AND THINGS LIKE THAT, REALLY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT'S, UH, WHAT, WHAT INTERESTS ARE IMPLICATED THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS SOME SORT OF, UH, SAY, SAY IN, UM, AND, UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
[02:15:03]
AT THE, THANK YOU.SO, AT THE OUTSET, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT CONCERN ABOUT MASS SURVEILLANCE IS, AND ABOUT AAL ALPS AS NONPARTISAN.
UM, WE ARE SEEING DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS, AND INDEPENDENTS SHARE CONCERNS ABOUT THIS TECHNOLOGY FROM, FROM, UH, UH, THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF TEXAS.
UM, THERE HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 20 JURISDICTIONS THAT HAVE EITHER, UH, ELIMINATED THEIR A LPR CONTRACTS.
THE CITY OF BASTROP ACTUALLY BANNED THE TECHNOLOGY ALTOGETHER BECAUSE OF THEIR CONCERN.
THESE ARE NOT CITIES THAT ARE LED BY, UH, LEFTIES.
THESE ARE ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM.
WE'RE SEEING CONCERNS ABOUT THIS TECHNOLOGY.
UM, I WANNA GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, AND I THINK THAT, UM, YOU'RE SEEING THIS KINDA SHARED UNEASINESS, UM, BECAUSE OF TWO NEW THINGS.
THIS OBVIOUSLY IS NOT A NEW TECHNOLOGY.
WHAT IS NEW IS THAT, UH, UH, BOTH THE FAST GROWING CAMERA NETWORK IN PARTICULAR, THAT FLOCK HAS KIND OF EXPANDED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
THEY'VE REALLY DOMINATED THE MARKET, AND THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO GIVE ACCESS TO MANY OTHER JURISDICTIONS, CAMERAS TO POLICE DEPARTMENTS.
IT'S ONE OF THEIR CORE MARKETING, UM, FEATURES.
UM, AND THE OTHER THING IS THE RISE OF AI.
WE ARE IN A MOMENT WHERE SEARCH AND USE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY IS ESSENTIALLY FRICTIONLESS.
YOU CAN GO THROUGH, UM, YOU, YOU CAN SEARCH FOR, YOU HEARD EARLIER, A VEHICLE DESCRIPTION.
YOU DON'T EVEN NEED THE LICENSE PLATE TO USE THIS SORT OF TECHNOLOGY.
AND YOU'RE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT, UH, ANY VEHICLE THAT MATCHES THAT DESCRIPTION.
YOU CAN TYPE IN VEHICLE DAMAGE AND BUMPER STICKERS.
UM, YOU COULD FILTER FOR, FOR BUMPER STICKERS THAT MAY INDICATE PEOPLE'S POLITICAL VIEWS, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, AND, AND SO, UM, IT'S A VERY POWERFUL, UH, FORM OF SURVEILLANCE.
THERE'S NO SURPRISE THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT WOULD WANT TO USE THIS SORT OF TECHNOLOGY.
UM, AND, AND WE'VE ALREADY KIND OF COVERED WHAT ALPS ARE IN TERMS OF THE HARDWARE.
UM, THEY CAN BE STATIONARY OR MOBILE AND OPERATION.
THEY, THEY CAN BE MOUNTED ON, UH, POLICE CARS.
THEY CAN BE MOUNTED ON POLES AND ACROSS THE, ACROSS THE CITY.
UM, UH, I THINK WE'VE COVERED MOST OF THIS.
I, I ALSO WANNA JUST SAY THESE CAN SCAN THOUSAND.
THEY SCAN EVERY LICENSE PLATE IN VIEW.
SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S THOUSANDS.
I THINK IT'S, IT CAN BE SOMETHING LIKE 30,000 PER HOUR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
IT'S AN ENORMOUS NUMBER OF LICENSE PLATE AND DATA THAT THEY'RE HOOVERING UP INTO A, A LARGE DATABASE.
UM, AND THE THING THAT I REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE TALK, THAT, THAT IS CLEAR IN EVERYONE'S MIND AS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT HOW TO REGULATE THESE OR, OR HOW TO HANDLE THEM, IS THERE ARE KIND OF TWO ASPECTS.
ONE IS THIS HOT LIST MATCHING ALERT FUNCTION WHERE THEY MATCH CARS AGAINST AN EXISTING DATABASE.
THE OTHER IS THE STORAGE OF HISTORICAL VEHICLE INFORMATION.
AND AS YOU HAVE HEARD, YOU HAVE A 365 DAY RETENTION POLICY.
OTHER CITIES THAT I'M AWARE OF MOSTLY HAVE A 30 DAY RETENTION POLICY.
THEY BASE THAT ON FLOCKS DEFAULT RECOMMENDATION.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THE CITY OF DALLAS AND THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT, UM, OPTED TO KEEP DATA FOR A VERY LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
THAT, THAT, THAT GOES FAR BEYOND THE, THE THREE, UH, 30 DAY, UH, DEFAULT.
THAT WAS RECENTLY CHANGED TO SEVEN DAYS BY FLOCK BECAUSE OF CONCERNS.
UM, I WANT TO JUST KIND OF HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE, THE CORE CONCERNS.
I THINK THE, I THINK DR. COLEMAN WAS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
IT'S A, ONE OF THE CORE CONCERNS IS ABOUT AGGREGATION.
UM, UM, SOME OF THE, THE CENTRAL HARM IS TO OUR PRIVACY.
ONE SCAN OF A LICENSE PLATE IS JUST A, A, A POINT IN TIME.
BUT IF YOU, UH, STRING THOSE TOGETHER, YOU CAN TRACK PEOPLE'S MOVEMENTS AND YOU CAN, UH, IDENTIFY WHERE THEY WORSHIP, WHICH DOCTORS THEY GO TO MEETINGS, THEY GO TO GUN STORES THAT THEY GO TO, UM, AND, AND WHERE PEOPLE SLEEP.
AND THAT CAN ESSENTIALLY END OUR PRACTIC PRACTICAL ANONYMITY IN PUBLIC, UM, UH, YOUR, YOUR ABILITY TO BE ANONYMOUS AND SORT OF, UH, GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS WITHOUT THE GOVERNMENT BEING ABLE TO RECREATE YOUR MOVEMENTS RETROSPECTIVELY.
UM, AND LEMME JUST ALSO SAY YOU HAVE 202 AGENCIES, IT SOUNDS LIKE, THAT HAVE ACCESS TO THIS DATA.
YOU ALL MAY TRUST THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT TO HANDLE THIS DATA IN A REALLY SENSITIVE AND THOUGHTFUL WAY.
BUT WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IS OTHER AGENCIES HAVE ACCESS TO THE, THAT INFORMATION, AND THEY NOT BE, THEY MAY, THEY MAY NOT BE AS JUDICIOUS AS THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT, UM, WOULD BE ABOUT HOW THEY HANDLE THAT DATA.
AND ALL OF THE CONCERNS ABOUT OUTSIDE AGENCIES, FEDERAL AGENCIES THAT I'VE HEARD, UH, SOME CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, THOSE OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES CAN STILL PROVIDE INDIRECT ACCESS TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES THAT MAY NOT, UH, THAT, THAT THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT MAY NOT PROVIDE ACCESS TO AGENCIES, UH, FOR, UM, AND SO, UM, I I WANNA HIGHLIGHT JUST A FEW OTHER CONCERNS.
ONE, UM, I THINK YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT IT, UH, IS JUST THE UNEVEN DEPLOYMENT, THE CONCENTRATION OF THIS SORT OF TECHNOLOGY.
WE SEE THIS OFTEN WHERE SURVEILLANCE
[02:20:01]
AND, AND LOW LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.UM, AND THEN, UH, ONE OTHER REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUE TO FOCUS IN ON THAT I HAVEN'T HEARD MENTIONED TONIGHT IS THE PROBLEM OF BAD DATA.
THESE HOT LISTS ARE NOT ALWAYS UPDATED REGULARLY.
AND IN FACT, THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES CANCELED ITS CONTRACT BECAUSE THEY HAD A NUMBER OF, UH, A NUMBER OF STOPS FOR DATA THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PURGED FROM THE, FROM THE FLOCK DATABASE.
ACTUALLY, DON'T QUOTE ME ON THAT, ON THE FLOCK THING.
UM, UH, AND, AND SO THERE IS A RISK IF, UH, INCLUDING WITH NCIC, WHICH THE CITY OF DALLAS USES, NCIC IS NOT BOUND BY SOME REALLY STRICT PRIVACY AND, AND ACCURACY REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE IN FEDERAL LAW.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT NCIC, EVEN THE DATABASE THAT THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT USES COULD LEAD TO STOPS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE.
AND SO THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT THIS, THIS BODY WILL HEAR COMPLAINTS OF AT SOME POINT.
UM, I ALSO JUST WANT TO HIT REALLY BRIEFLY ON, UH, ON THE FOURTH AME, THE, THE FOURTH AMENDMENT AND, AND CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS.
NOBODY CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW THAT WHAT, WHAT, WHERE THE SUPREME COURT IS GOING TO LAND ON, UH, APRS, BUT WHAT WE DID SEE IN THE LAST TERM, UM, WAS THE, UH, THE SUPREME COURT WEIGH IN IN A CASE CALLED, UH, CHARI CHARI V UH, UNITED STATES.
AND IN THAT CASE, WHAT THEY FOUND IN PART WAS THAT, UM, THE, THE RETROSPECTIVE RECONSTRUCTION OF PEOPLE'S MOVEMENTS ACROSS TIME DOES IMPLICATE PRIVACY INTERESTS.
SO I THINK THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND ONE OF THE REASONS THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, BOTH TO, TO THIS BODY AND TO THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT, IS IF YOU'RE A DEFENSE ATTORNEY WORTH YOUR SALT, THE FIRST THING THAT YOU'RE GONNA DO IF YOU SEE A-L-P-R-D DATA BEING USED IN A CASE, IS YOU'RE GONNA TRY TO MOVE TO SUPPRESS THAT SORT OF INFORMATION.
AND THAT COULD ACTUALLY JEOPARDIZE CASES THAT ALL OF US CARE ABOUT MAKING SURE SOLVED, AND PEOPLE, UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
AND SO I THINK THAT THERE'S A PUBLIC SAFETY RISK IN NOT GETTING THIS RIGHT AND WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR THIS BODY AND THE DALLAS CITY COUNCIL TO BE REALLY CAREFUL ABOUT IT.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH EACH OF THESE ABUSES, BUT I DO WANNA SAY, UM, I WANT TO, I WANNA JUST MAKE A FEW COMMENTS.
UH, WE KNOW THAT THIS, THESE, UH, UH, APRS AND FLOCK HAVE BEEN USED TO, UH, LOOK FOR, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE UNDOCUMENTED.
UM, IT'S BEEN USED, UH, AGAINST PROTESTORS.
UM, IT'S BEEN USED, UH, TO TARGET PEOPLE EXERCISING THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
THERE WAS A POLICE DEPARTMENT IN KANSAS, UH, IN KANSAS CITY, UH, THAT TARGETED A MAN, UH, FOR WRITING AN OP-ED ABOUT HIS LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT.
IT'S BEEN USED TO TRACK PEOPLE AT GUN SHOWS BY THE, UH, BY A TF.
UM, AND, AND PART OF THE REASON I WANTED TO SHARE ALL OF THAT IS, IS BECAUSE I, YOU MAY SYMPATHIZE WITH SOME OF THE PEOPLE ON THIS LIST AND NOT SYMPATHIZE WITH OTHERS, AND THAT'S SORT OF THE POINT.
UM, A A POWER TO TO SEARCH FOR ANYBODY IS NOT GONNA BE, STAY EXACTLY WHERE IT IS AIMED AT.
AND SO, UM, AS YOU, IT COULD BE USED TO TARGET THE PROTESTOR YOU DISAGREE WITH OR THE GUN GUN OWNER THAT YOU WOULD DEFEND.
UM, AND SO, UM, ONE OTHER PARTICULAR INSTANCE I WANNA MAKE SURE I MENTION BECAUSE IT'S A TEXAS EXAMPLE, IS THE USE BY A JOHNSON COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTY TO TARGET.
UM, A A WOMAN WHO HAD, WAS SUSPECTED OF SELF-ADMINISTERING AN ABORTION.
UM, THE, THE, UH, THE SHERIFF'S DEPUTY ONE SHERIFF'S DEPUTY WAS ABLE TO USE THIS NETWORK TO SEARCH 83,000 CAMERAS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO FIND THE, FIND THIS PERSON.
UM, AND IN THAT CASE, ACTUALLY, THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT'S FLOCK SYSTEM HAD SOME OF ITS PINGS COME UP.
AND SO DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT'S DATA AND INFORMATION WAS USED IN THIS, UH, RATHER FAMOUS EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE BEING, UH, UH, TRACKED DOWN IN PART BECAUSE OF A SELF-ADMINISTERED ABORTION BY A, BY A DEPUTY.
UM, AND, AND THIS IS WELL COVERED.
YOU, YOU COULD PULL IT UP PRETTY QUICKLY.
UM, THE OTHER THING I WANNA SAY IS, AS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS, NOTHING IN, UM, UH, DALLAS'S RULES ARE NOT GONNA FOLLOW DALLAS'S, UH, DALLAS DATA IS NOT GONNA FOLLOW THE RULES THAT YOU SET WHEN IT LEAVES THE DEPARTMENT.
AND SO, AS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT HOW TO REGULATE THIS STUFF, I WOULD THINK ABOUT BUILDING INTO YOUR, UH, THE, THE LOCAL POLICIES, RESTRICTIONS ON HOW OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES CAN USE THIS DATA AS WELL.
UM, AND I'LL SAY NOTHING IN DALLAS AS CONTRACTOR POLICIES, UH, I THINK PREVENT ANY OF THE ABUSES THAT I SEE ON THIS SLIDE.
UM, AND WE'RE GONNA GO FORWARD A FEW.
UM, SO I THINK EVERY SURVEILLANCE TOOL POSES A CHOICE.
ON THE LEFT, YOU'LL SEE THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY IS TOO PROBLEMATIC TO USE UNDER ANY
[02:25:01]
CIRCUMSTANCES.AND ON THE RIGHT YOU'RE LIKE, IT'S RISKY, BUT WE'RE GONNA TOLERATE THIS AND TRY TO MANAGE THE RISKS SOMEHOW.
AND I THINK THAT WHICH DECISIONS RIGHT FOR DALLAS IS ULTIMATELY UP TO THE PEOPLE OF DALLAS AND THE DALLAS CITY COUNCIL.
I THINK THERE ARE SOME GOOD REASONS AT THIS PARTICULAR MOMENT TO END THE USE OF APRS ALTOGETHER.
UM, BUT IT'S UP TO THIS COMMITTEE TO THINK ABOUT, UM, WHETHER IT WANTS TO DO THAT OR MORE OF THE GUARDRAILS APPROACH THAT WE'VE HEARD SOME ABOUT TONIGHT.
I'M GOING TO, UH, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE GUARDRAILS THAT WE THINK ARE REALLY IMPORTANT IF THE CITY OF DALLAS CHOOSES TO RETAIN, UH, AND, AND CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN THIS TECHNOLOGY.
UM, SO THE, THE FIRST PROBLEM THAT I WANNA, UM, FOCUS IN ON IS THAT THE CITY OF DALLAS KEEPS TOO MUCH DATA FOR TOO LONG.
UM, THIS IS JUST A, A SNAPSHOT OF THE CITY OF DALLAS, UH, POLICE CONTRACT.
YOU'LL SEE THAT IT HAS A RETENTION PERIOD OF 365 DAYS IN YOUR GENERAL ORDERS, YOU HAVE 30 DAYS.
IT'S NOT REALLY CLEAR TO ME WHICH OF THOSE IS ACTUALLY BEING USED.
IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S 365 DAYS BASED ON WHAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS SHARING.
UM, AND I THINK ONE SOLUTION IS AS A MATTER OF CITY PO POLICY, LIMIT A LPR DATA RETENTION UNLESS IT'S LINKED TO A SPECIFIC INVESTIGATION.
UM, AND ALSO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE NOT, UH, KEEPING DATA LONGER THAN YOU NEED TO.
AND, UH, THE, THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ACTUALLY HAS A THREE MINUTE DELETION REQUIREMENT FOR DATA THAT IT, UH, PICKS UP USING APRS.
WHAT THAT MEANS IS, EFFECTIVELY THEY'VE DECIDED THEY'RE NOT GOING TO ALLOW HISTORIC VEHICLE INFORMATION TO BE SEARCHED.
THEY'RE GOING TO ALLOW THE HOT LIST FUNCTION OF THIS TECHNOLOGY TO BE USED.
SO THAT IS ONE APPROACH THAT, UM, FOLKS CAN CONSIDER.
UM, ANOTHER PROBLEM, UM, AND I THINK THAT THIS SOLVES A LOT OF PROBLEMS, IS THERE'S NO JUDICIAL OVERSIGHT RIGHT NOW.
DALLAS POLICE CAN LOOK BACK AGAIN FOR A FULL YEAR OF STORE A-A-L-P-R DATA WITHOUT, UM, WITHOUT A SUBPOENA, WITHOUT JUDICIAL OVERSIGHT AND THE CITY, THERE'S NOTHING THAT STOPS THE CITY FROM, AS A MATTER OF CITY POLICY, REQUIRING A JUDICIALLY SIGNED WARRANT TO SEARCH A LPR DATA.
YOU MAY, UH, WANT TO HAVE NARROW EXCEPTIONS FOR EMERGENCIES.
UM, I THINK THAT YOU COULD, UH, I HEARD THE, THE CROWLEY EXAMPLE OF, OF FINDING THE MISSING PERSON, MAYBE THE TYPE OF SITUATION THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO ALLOW EXCEPTIONS FOR.
YOU MAY WANNA ALLOW EXCEPTIONS FOR FINDING MISSING VEHICLES.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT SETTING A HIGH BAR SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE, I THINK YOU, I SAW 37,000 SEARCHES IN SEPTEMBER.
AND IT'S ALSO, IT'S ALSO, YOU HAVE A LOT OF OFFICERS THAT HAVE ACCESS TO THIS SYSTEM WITHOUT A LOT OF OVERSIGHT.
UM, I THINK ANOTHER, UM, ANOTHER, ANOTHER ISSUE THAT THE JUDICIALLY SIGNED WARRANT REQUIREMENT, UM, IF YOU INSTITUTED SOMETHING LIKE THAT COULD SOLVE IS THIS OUT OF, UH, UH, OUT, OUT OF DALLAS ACCESS PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE.
THE PROBLEM IS NO ENFORCEABLE LIMITS ON WHO GETS DALLAS' LICENSE PLATE READER DATA.
POLICE CAN GRANT ACCESS TO ANY AGENCY.
THEY CAN CHANGE ACCESS AT ANY TIME.
AS YOU HEARD, IT WAS 1500, IT'S NOW 202.
THERE'S NOTHING THAT STOPS IT TOMORROW GOING BACK UP TO 1500, UM, OR ALLOWING ACCESS TO OTHER AGENCIES AT THE WHIM OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND SO GETTING THESE AGAIN IN WRITING AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE ENFORCEABLE IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT.
IF YOU INSTITUTED A CITY POLICY OF A WARRANT REQUIREMENT, YOU COULD ENFORCE THAT SAME SORT OF CITY POLICY AGAINST OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
UM, THE OTHER, UH, ISSUE, AND I I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I, I BUILT ON DR.
UH, COLEMAN'S, UH, PRESENTATION IS THIS HOT LIST.
THIS IS, UH, THIS HOT LIST ISSUE.
UM, DALLAS LIMITS ITS HOT LIST TO LOCAL, TO ITS LOCAL DATABASE AND ESTABLISHED STATE AND POL STATE AND NATIONAL DATABASES LIKE NCIC, UM, ONE THAT CAN CHANGE AT ANY TIME.
AND NCIC ACTUALLY HAS SOME ACCURACY PROBLEMS. AND SO, UM, AS YOU'RE, AS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS, YOU COULD BUILD IN A REQUIREMENT THAT THE, THE DATABASES GET UPDATED, UH, WITH SOME REGULARITY EVERY MORNING, FOR EXAMPLE, AND THAT THEY HAVE TO BE ACCURATE BEFORE THEY GET TO BE USED BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS.
THAT'S ANOTHER POLICY THE CITY COULD PURSUE.
THE, THE, THE OTHER PROBLEM THAT I WANTED TO, THIS IS SORT OF THE, THE MASS SURVEILLANCE FOR MINOR INFRACTIONS.
I WANTED TO JUST, UH, SHOW THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU, THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY POWERFUL TECHNOLOGY, AND THERE WAS A REASON THE STATE OF TEXAS SORT OF BANNED IN 2019, UH, RED LIGHT CAMERAS.
AND PART OF IT HAD TO DO WITH THE HOW, HOW OFFENSIVE THE IDEA IS THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS GONNA TRACK EVERY SINGLE BIT OF YOUR MOVEMENT WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY AND THEN DING YOU EVERY TIME THAT THEY
[02:30:01]
ARE ABLE TO CATCH YOU.AND SO, BEING REALLY SPECIFIC ABOUT THE TYPES OF OFFENSES AND TYPES OF INFRACTIONS YOU CAN USE THIS SORT OF TECHNOLOGY FOR, FOR, UH, ENUMERATING, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS, IS ALSO ANOTHER, UH, GUARDRAIL THAT THE CITY COULD CONSIDER.
THE LAST THING I DO, I WANTED TO LIKE ZOOM OUT ON THIS LAST SLIDE AND JUST SAY SURVEILLANCE.
WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW, UM, IS MASS SURVEILLANCE OF EVERYBODY IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
I GUARANTEE YOU THAT ANYBODY WHO DROVE HERE WAS SCANNED MULTIPLE TIMES ON THE WAY IN.
AND IT, IT'S REALLY AN INVERSION OF THIS IDEA THAT THE GOVERNMENT, UH, THE GOVERNMENT'S ABILITY TO TRACK OUR MOVEMENTS, UM, UH, HAS, HAS GROWN, UH, DRAMATICALLY UNDER, UNDER FLOCK.
AND SO, I JUST WANNA SAY SURVEILLING THE LOCATION OF MOVEMENTS OF EVERY VEHICLE IN DALLAS FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, JUST BECAUSE ANY ONE OF US MIGHT COMMIT A CRIME IS A PRETTY UN-AMERICAN APPROACH TO PRIVACY.
UM, MY CONTACT INFORMATION IS ON THE LAST SLIDE, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? I'LL, UH, JESUS MARQUEZ, DISTRICT NINE.
I'LL JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR TALKING TO US AND NOT READING TO US.
IT'S, IT'S AFTER I READ A BUNCH
I, I ALSO WANT TO JUST SAY THANK YOU AND, UH, REMINDING US THAT WE'RE MOVING INTO THIS WORLD OF SURVEILLANCE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN I THINK ABOUT WHERE I GO AND WHAT I DO EVERY SINGLE DAY, YEAH, YOU CAN WRITE A BOOK ABOUT JONATHAN MAPLES FROM 5:00 AM IN THE MORNING TILL MIDNIGHT.
AND, YOU KNOW, BEING A UNITED STATES MARINE, I'M A GUN ENTHUSIAST AND I HAVE A CHL.
SO NOT ONLY THAT, THEY'RE TRACKING GUNS ALL OVER AND EVERYTHING FROM GUNS TO GROCERIES TO EVERYTHING WE DO.
AND YOU KNOW, WHEN IT WAS TOLD TO ME THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GONNA, THEY, THEY, THEY HAVE PUT CAMERAS ON THE GARBAGE TRUCKS, SO WHEN THEY DRIVE DOWN THE ALLEYS, THEY CAN HIT US FOR CODE VIOLATIONS.
I MEAN, WHAT'S NEXT? THIS IS, THIS IS BECOMING OUT OF CONTROL AND IT'S GOT SOME TYPE OF GUARDRAILS HAVE GOT TO BE, BE PUT UP PRETTY GO PRETTY QUICKLY OR, OR THIS, OR THE CITIZENS OF THIS CITY ARE, ARE GOING TO REALLY, REALLY PUSH BACK.
AND WHAT IS TURNING TO A CONVERSATION IS GOING TO BE A NASTY FIGHT.
BUT THANK YOU FOR COMING AND, AND, UH, GIVING US YOUR PRESENTATION.
MAY I ADD TWO QUICK, ONE QUICK THING? YES, SIR.
UM, THERE ARE LOTS OF RESOURCES OUT THERE TO HELP Y'ALL GET THIS RIGHT.
UM, IF IT'S AT ALL HELPFUL AND WE'RE HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP, UM, THERE'S A-A-C-L-U MODEL GUARDRAILS PROPOSAL.
THERE'S ALSO A-A-C-L-U MODEL BAN PROPOSAL, AND I'LL SEND BOTH ALONG.
UM, THERE'S ALSO AN INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE, ANOTHER ORGANIZATION, UH, THEY HAVE A, A, A PROPOSAL THAT, UM, HAS, IT'S SORT OF A GUARD RAILS APPROACH WITH A WARRANT REQUIREMENT BAKED IN.
THERE ARE LOTS OF MODELS TO LOOK AT FOR DALLAS TO COME UP WITH ITS OWN MIXTURE AND OWN POLICY ON THESE SORTS OF THINGS.
AND THEN ONE MORE QUICK THING.
UM, THE, THE ISSUE OF, UH, OFFICERS STALKING ROMANTIC PARTNERS HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT'S COME UP QUITE A BIT.
AND, AND I'VE SHARED WITH OTHER FOLKS THAT I WOULD BE VERY SURPRISED IF IT, IF, IF LARGE POLICE DEPARTMENTS DIDN'T HAVE THOSE SORTS OF SCANDALS, JUST BECAUSE IT'S TOO TEMPTING TO LOOK PEOPLE UP, UH, WHEN YOU'RE INVOLVED IN THOSE SORTS OF INCIDENTS.
AND SO AS THIS COMMITTEE IS THINKING ABOUT OVERSIGHT OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, YOU MIGHT ASK THEM TO, TO, UH, REALLY FOCUS IN ON THAT SORT OF LINE, LINE OF QUESTIONING AND ASK THEM THAT THAT SORT OF THING HAS HAPPENED.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM, UH, THE BOARD? NOPE.
THANK YOU FOR I CAN'T HEAR THANKS INFORMATION.
I, I JUST SAID HE, UH, JULIA SIMON, UH, DISTRICT 13, YOU WERE READING MY MIND.
THANK YOU FOR THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I HAVE ONE QUESTION, AND I'M SORRY.
AS, AS, FROM A LEGALITY STANDPOINT, IN VIOLATION OF WHAT WE FEEL MAY BE THE FOURTH AMENDMENT, HOW DO, HOW DO WE AND HOW SHOULD WE GO ABOUT THAT? I WOULD JUST SAY, I THINK THAT WHAT, UM, I MEAN YOU SHOULD TALK TO YOUR CITY ATTORNEY, UM, BUT I THINK THAT AS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS, WHAT I HAVE SEEN THAT'S BEEN, UM, MOST, UH, THAT SEEMS MOST IN QUESTION RIGHT NOW IS THE RETROSPECTIVE RECONSTRUCTION OF PEOPLE'S MOVEMENTS.
IT'S WHAT CAME UP IN CARPENTER.
IT'S WHAT CAME UP IN CHAT TREE.
IT, IT'S THE, IT'S THE BUILDING A RECORD OF PEOPLE'S MOVEMENTS SO THAT THEY ESSENTIALLY HAVE NO MORE, UM, UH, PRIVACY AS THEY MOVE, MOVE AROUND IN PUBLIC.
YOUR, YOUR PRIVACY DOES NOT END JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE IN PUBLIC, NOT, NOT IN THE WAY THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS ABLE TO KIND OF TRACK YOUR MOVEMENTS ACROSS TIME.
[02:35:01]
THE THING THAT THE COURTS HAVE REALLY FOCUSED IN ON.ANYTHING ELSE FROM THE, FROM THE BOARD? I, WELL, THANK YOU, SIR.
WE APPRECIATE YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION.
AND BEFORE YOU LEAVE, LET ME TELL YOU THAT, UM, I BELIEVE IN THE A CLU AND WHAT IT'S TRYING TO DO.
AND I WANT TO PERSONALLY THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
UM, THIS IS A NECESSARY CONVERSATION AND, UH, YOUR PICTURE OF 1984 WAS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT.
[VIII. ALPR Research: Evidence on Crime, Vehicle Recovery, Privacy, Public Trust, and Research Limitations]
UM, NOW I WILL TURN THE MEETING OVER TO DR. HOWARD HENDERSON.HE'S A PROFESSOR OF JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION AND HE'S THE FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR JUSTICE RESEARCH, AND HE WILL MAKE A PRESENTATION ON A LPR RESEARCH, INCLUDING EVIDENCE ON CRIME, VEHICLE RECOVERY, PRIVACY, PUBLIC TRUST, AND RESEARCH LIMITATIONS.
HOPE EVERYONE'S, YEAH, GOOD EVENING.
UH, CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? YES, SIR.
AND I KNOW THAT THE HOUR IS LATE AND, UH, AND IN THIS LATE HOUR, SOME OF OUR HOURS GET A LITTLE HEAVY, SO I'LL TRY TO GIVE YOU BACK YOUR TIME.
I'VE ALSO ADJUSTED, UH, SOME OF MY POINTS AND MAKE SURE THAT I DON'T REITERATE, UH, WHAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ALREADY STATED, AND ALSO TRY TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE RAISED.
UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO, UH, DIRECTOR ANDRE AND HER TEAM.
UH, THEY'VE BEEN PHENOMENAL ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE THIS, THIS HAPPEN TODAY.
UH, THERE'S AN OLD SAYING, I THINK, UH, THAT WE USE IN RESEARCH, AND IT, IT GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
IT SAYS, IN GOD, WE TRUST EVERYONE ELSE MUST BRING DATA.
AND TONIGHT, I THINK THIS APPLIES TO EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM, INCLUDING MYSELF.
SO LET ME SHOW YOU SORT OF WHAT, UH, THE DATA ACTUALLY SAYS.
AS YOU MENTIONED, UH, I AM PROFESSOR OF, UH, JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION AT TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY, BUT I ALSO LEAD A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS, UH, AT THE CENTER FOR JUSTICE RESEARCH HERE IN HOUSTON.
UH, I AM A NON-RESIDENT FELLOW, UH, AT THE BROOK INSTITUTION IN WASHINGTON, DC.
MY RESEARCH FOR OVER 20 YEARS HAS SIMPLY EXAMINED DISPARITIES IN OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM, INCLUDING TECHNOLOGIES, UH, THAT THE POLICE USE.
I RECENTLY, UH, PINNED A HILL ARTICLE, UH, THAT ESSENTIALLY ARGUED THAT POLICE SHOULD USE TECHNOLOGY TO HELP SOLVE SERIOUS CRIMES, BUT DEPARTMENTS HAVE AN ONUS TO SHOW, UH, THAT, THAT, UH, TECHNOLOGY ACTUALLY IS EFFECTIVE.
UH, TONIGHT I WANT TO SET THAT OPINION ASIDE.
AND, UH, AS THE LAST PRESENTER, UH, I WILL NOT REPEAT AGAIN WHAT YOU'VE HEARD.
MY ROLE IS TO SIMPLY GIVE YOU INFORMATION TO WEIGH AGAINST, UH, THE EVIDENCE, UH, WHETHER THE CAMERAS ARE WORTH, UH, WORTH.
IT COMES DOWN TO THREE THINGS THAT I'M GONNA PRESENT TO YOU.
ONE IS WHAT BENEFITS HAVE BEEN PROVEN? UH, WHAT COST ARE MEASURABLE AND WHAT CAN DALLAS DO TO STILL FIND THIS OUT? UM, LET ME GIVE YOU THREE TAKEAWAYS.
FIRST, UH, THE, THE PLATE READERS DO HELP FIND VEHICLES AND THEY LIKELY REDUCE VEHICLE THEFT.
UH, NUMBER TWO, UH, THEY HAVE NOT BEEN SHOWN TO MAKE A CITY SAFER FROM VIOLENCE.
AND THREE, THE, THE, THE DALLAS DATA, UH, YOU DO HAVE THE DATA TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT'S EFFECTIVE AND WHAT'S NOT, INCLUDING THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS.
UM, LET'S GET THROUGH SLIDE TWO AND GO STRAIGHT TO SLIDE THREE IF WE CAN, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
NOW, UH, WHILE LOOKING AT THIS, UH, THIS IS ESSENTIALLY AN EVIDENCE LADDER.
AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS AN EVOLUTION OF ACTIVITY.
A CAMERA SCAN SEARCHES AND, AND NEXT COMES ARREST.
AND SORT OF THEY HELP THE INVESTIGATION, A, A, A ABOVE THESE, YOU ESSENTIALLY SEE THAT THERE ARE TWO RUNGS THAT MATTER THE MOST, UH, WHETHER CRIME GOES DOWN AND WHETHER THE PUBLIC TRUST IN THE SYSTEM.
UH, THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT, AS THEY PRESENTED EARLIER, UM, THEY ESSENTIALLY SIT ON THREE RUNGS.
THEY HAVE 690 CAMERAS IN PLACES.
UH, THEY HAVE OVER 37,000 SEARCHES IN SEPTEMBER ALONE, AND THEY MADE 909 ASSOCIATED ARRESTS IN THE LAST YEAR.
UH, NOTHING PRESENTED MEASURES.
THOSE TOP TWO THAT I MENTIONED.
UH, THE ACTIVITY ESSENTIALLY TELLS YOU THAT THE SYSTEM IS BUSY, BUT IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY TELL YOU WHETHER OR NOT DALLAS IS SAFER, WHICH I THINK THE LINE OF QUESTIONING THAT YOU GUYS HAVE HAD ALL NIGHT HAS BEEN, DOES THIS MAKE OUR CITY SAFER? UH, THEIR OWN DATA ALSO POINTS TO TWO HIDDEN COSTS THAT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT.
UM, WITNESSES WERE THE PRIMARY, UH, SOLVING FACTOR IN ABOUT 25% OF THOSE CASES, BUT THE PLATE READERS WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR ABOUT 8%.
UM, WITNESSES COME FORWARD WHEN THEY TRUST THE POLICE, AND, AND NO ONE HAS ASKED WHETHER OR NOT THE TOOL THAT HELPS 8% OF THOSE CASES COULD CAUSE PART OF THAT 25%.
NOW, LET ME GO TO SLIDE FOUR, AND I'LL SAY VERY BRIEFLY, UH,
[02:40:01]
THE RESEARCH CLEARLY SHOWS THAT THESE PLATE READERS, UH, HELP POLICE FIND STOLEN VEHICLES.I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY DOUBT IN THAT.
THE, THE, THE STRONGEST EVIDENCE THAT WE'VE SEEN IN ALL THE RESEARCH OUT THERE IS THAT IN THE AREA OF, OF VEHICLE THEFT, UH, THE LARGEST FLOCK STATED TO FLOCK STUDY TO DATE ACROSS 216 DIFFERENT AGENCIES ESTIMATES THAT ABOUT 11% FUEL VEHICLE THEFTS AFTER THE CAMERAS WENT UP, ROUGHLY ONE IN NINE.
UH, AND, AND, BUT THE THING IS, THAT'S A WORKING PAPER THAT HAS NOT BEEN PEER REVIEWED.
SO YOU HAVE TO ASSESS THAT WITH CAUTION.
UH, ATLANTIC CITY ALSO SAW FEWER SHOOTINGS, BUT ATLANTIC CITY IS AN ISLAND WITH ONLY A FEW INROADS.
UH, DALLAS, YOUR SITUATIONS IS MUCH DIFFERENT BECAUSE YOU'RE AN OPEN, UH, ON ALL SIDES.
AND, AND SO THAT RESULTS, THOSE RESULTS THAT YOU FIND IN LANDING CITY MAY NOT NECESSARILY TRANSFER TO DALLAS, BUT, BUT THAT IS A PROVEN BENEFIT, FINDING VEHICLES AND LIKELY FEWER VEHICLE DEATHS THEFTS.
LET'S GO TO SLIDE SIX, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
UH, NO STUDY TO DATE HAS SHOWN A CITYWIDE DROP VIOLENT CRIME, UM, NOT YET SHOWN INDIFFERENT, UH, FROM SHOWN NOT TO WORK, BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN SHOWN AT ALL.
GO TO SLIDE SEVEN, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
A A, A SMOKE DETECTOR THAT FINDS MORE FIRES IS VALUABLE, UH, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT FEW FIRES HAVE BEEN STARTED.
UH, FINDING STOLEN CARS IS NOT THE SAME AS PREVENTING CRIME.
EVERY ALERT TRAVELS A CHAIN FROM SCAN TO ALERT, UH, TO AN OFFICER VERIFYING THE PLATE POLICE ACTION, UH, AND ARREST.
UH, AND FINALLY, WHETHER OR NOT THE CASE HAS ACTUALLY BEEN SOLVED.
IN ONE MAJOR STUDY THAT WE FOUND, PLATE READERS HELP SOLVE ABOUT 1% OF AUTO THEFTS AND ABOUT 3% OF ROBBERIES.
A CAMERA ALERT IS NOT NECESSARILY AN ARREST, BUT AN ARREST IS NOT A SOLVED CASE.
UH, THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT, AS THEY MENTIONED, UH, REPORT ABOUT 8%.
UH, BEFORE RELYING ON THAT NUMBER THOUGH, THE BOARD SHOULD ASK THE QUESTION 8% OF WHAT? OVER WHAT PERIOD OF TIME, AND WHO DECIDES THAT? UH, SLIDE NINE, PLEASE.
ONE COST IS MEASURABLE IN A SURVEY EXPERIMENT, SIMPLY LEARNING HOW THIS TECHNOLOGY WORKS.
LOWER TRUST IN POLICE, AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT AGAIN.
IN ONE STUDY, THEY FOUND THAT SIMPLY LEARNING HOW THIS FLOCK CAMERA TECHNOLOGY WORKS, LOWER TRUST IN POLICE.
UH, UM, CASE EXAMPLES SHOW THE TOOLS CAN WORK, BUT THEY CANNOT SHOW HOW OFTEN THOSE TOOLS WORK.
THE, THE, THE, THE QUESTION ON THIS, THE QUESTION THAT YOU'VE SEEN ON THIS SLIDE, UH, ARE ONES THAT DALLAS CAN ANSWER WITH ITS OWN DATA.
UH, AND, AND HERE'S HOW THE BOARD CAN SIMPLY DECIDE, UH, HOW MUCH MONEY YOU AUTHORIZE FOR THESE CAMERAS, UH, AND WHAT ARE THE VERIFIED OUTCOMES.
AND THAT ALLOWS YOU TO ACTUALLY CALCULATE THE COST PER SOLVE CASE.
UM, YOU, YOU ALSO MAY BE SOON, YOU ALSO MAY SOON HAVE RESEARCHERS INFORMATION THAT RESEARCHERS LIKE MYSELF, UH, RARELY GET.
UH, THERE ARE ABOUT 320 STATE FUNDED CAMERAS NOW RUN ON A 90 DAY EXTENSION IF THOSE CAMERAS GO DARK.
COMPARING THOSE AREAS WITH, WITH COMPARING THOSE FACES WITH AREAS THAT KEEP THEIR CAMERAS, WOULD TELL YOU MORE THAN ANY STUDY THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO REVIEW TO THIS POINT.
IF YOU COLLECT THAT DATA NOW AND THE CITY LEARNS SOMETHING, EITHER WAY, THE QUESTION IS REALLY SIMPLE.
IN THIS CASE, WHAT EVIDENCE WOULD JUSTIFY CONTINUING THIS PROGRAM AND WHAT EVIDENCE, UH, WOULD JUSTIFY CHANGING IT? NEXT SLIDE.
NOW THERE ARE THREE TAKEAWAYS, AND AGAIN, I PROMISE TO GIVE YOU YOUR TIME BACK.
FIRST PLATE READERS HELP FIND VEHICLES AND LIKELY REDUCE VEHICLE THEFT.
SECOND, THEY HAVE NOT BEEN SHOWN TO MAKE A CITY SAFER FROM VIOLENCE.
AND THIRD, DALLAS HAS THE DATA TO MEASURE THE REST, INCLUDING COST AND TRUST.
UH, POLICE AND RESIDENTS IN THE ROOM WANT THE SAME THING.
I WOULD ASSUME SAFE STREETS AND THE SYSTEM PEOPLE CAN TRUST.
SHARED EVIDENCE IS HOW THEY STAY ON THE SAME TEAM.
UH, DALLAS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO NECESSARILY SETTLE, UH, THIS ON FAITH ON EITHER SIDE.
YOU HAVE THE DATA TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE.
AND YOU'LL SEE THERE'S A, THERE'S A, THERE'S A, THERE, THERE'S A LIST OF REFERENCES HERE IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A SCREENSHOT OR SHARE THAT.
UM, THOSE ARE THE STUDIES I THINK THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT IF YOU WANNA READ MORE.
[02:45:01]
YOU'LL SEE OUR QR CODE, UH, THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO CONTACT US DIRECTLY.UH, LET ME OPEN IT UP TO THE BOARD IF ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, JUST TO THANK YOU.
THIS IS REALLY A USEFUL INFORMATION.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
WELL, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU AS WELL, DOCTOR, BECAUSE, UH, YOU OKAY, BETWEEN YOU AND THE ACL U, WE MAY HAVE SOMETHING WE CAN WORK WITH AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL YOU HAVE DONE.
AND AS A FELLOW PROFESSOR, I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE.
UM, SO NOW, UM, PUBLIC COMMENT.
ANY QUESTIONS? HMM, DID I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I DO NOT HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE DOCTOR AT THIS MOMENT.
UH, WE'RE GONNA BE BACK IN TOUCH.
[IX. Public Comment/Open Microphone]
UM, NOW I'M GOING TO OPEN THIS UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS.WE'LL NOW HEAR NON-AG AGENDA, PUBLIC COMMENTS.
THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON ITEMS THAT ARE NOT LISTED ON TODAY'S AGENDA, BUT WITHIN OUR JURISDICTION.
PLEASE FOLLOW THE PREVIOUSLY STATED PUBLIC COMMENT GUIDELINES.
RESPECT, COURTESY, AND RELEVANCE ARE ESSENTIAL.
EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE UP TO THREE MINUTES TO ADDRESS THE BOARD IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR RULES.
IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY SUBMITTED A PUBLIC COMMENT CARD, PLEASE DO SO.
UH, AND IF YOU ARE ATTENDING REMOTELY, USE THE RAISE HAND FUNCTION ON THAT WEBEX.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE FOR GIVING US PUBLIC COMMENTS THIS AFTERNOON? YES.
I DON'T HAVE A LIST OF NAMES, SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO COME FORWARD AND IDENTIFY YOURSELF.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHY I DON'T HAVE A LIST OF NAMES, BUT I DON'T HAVE OTHER NAMES.
COME ON FORWARD TO THE MICROPHONE.
AND, UM, PRESS THE BUTTON TO ACTIVATE YOUR MICROPHONE.
AND ONCE YOU BEGIN SPEAKING, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
UM, I'M INTERPRETING FURTHER THEM.
THEN WE MAY EXTEND THAT THREE MINUTES.
MY NAME IS S AND I'M IN DISTRICT SIX.
THE LAST PERSONAS, THE, UM, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO, UM, UH, MAKE, HIRE THE TAXES FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE ELDERLY.
EVEN MANY WHO LIVE CHECK TO CHECK, UM, FROM THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY.
AND IT'S NOT JUST, UM, I BELIEVE IT'S NOT JUST BECAUSE IT'S MONEY THAT THEY NEED FOR THEIR MEDICATIONS.
YOU REPRESENTATIVES, UH, IF YOU COULD PLEASE FIND OUT WHAT THIS INFORMATION IS BEING USED FOR.
WHAT IS THE DATA BEING USED FOR? I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU REPRESENTATIVES TO USE YOUR INFLUENCE, UM, WITH THE CITY COUNCIL SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THESE CAMERAS ARE BEING USED FOR AND THE PURPOSE OF WHY AND WHO IS RETAINING THAT DATA INFORMATION.
[02:50:01]
HAVE AN ADDITIONAL THREE MINUTES.MY NAME IS MARTHA HERNANDEZ AND I'M FROM DISTRICT THREE.
SO THEY SAY THAT THESE CAMERAS ARE FOR SAFETY, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE SAFETY IS.
ALSO, THIS MEETING WASN'T IN SPANISH, BUT, UH, WHAT ARE, WHAT IS THE SAFETY OF THAT THAT IS BEING BROUGHT BY THESE CAMERAS? WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE SAFETY WHEN JUST THIS PAST SUNDAY, ANOTHER CHILD DIED FROM THE INSECURITIES IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS? UH, WE FEEL LIKE LABORATORY RATS UNDER SURVEILLANCE.
WE, WE FEEL THAT WAY BECAUSE YOU CAN'T TAKE ONE STEP WITHOUT BEING SURVEYED.
AND WE NEED TO KNOW TO WHAT END, WHEN DOES IT STOP? WHERE IS THE END TO THIS? WE'RE PAYING DOUBLE, TRIPLE THE PROPERTY TAXES.
AND WE WANNA KNOW WHY ISN'T THIS MONEY BEING USED TO ACTUALLY HELP THE COMMUNITY, TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY.
I WILL JUST WANNA KNOW HOW IS THE SECURITY AND, AND THE SAFETY BEING ADDRESSED BECAUSE THIS IS CAUSING MORE PANIC, MORE, UM, PEOPLE BEING AFRAID IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE'RE WITH WORKERS' DEFENSE, BY THE WAY.
UH, WE'RE MEMBERS OF WORKERS' DEFENSE.
THEY DIDN'T MENTION IT, BUT WE ARE VERY GOOD.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
PLEASE THANK THESE LADIES FOR US.
UH, AND UH, THE, YOU HAVE THE APOLOGY OF THE BOARD FOR THIS NOT HAVING BEEN BROADCAST IN SPANISH.
DID YOU HAVE, UH, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YES.
DERRICK PILGRAM, DISTRICT SIX.
YOU SAID, UH, TAXES ARE GETTING MORE AND MORE TAXES FROM YOU.
ARE YOU, ARE YOU NOT HOMESTEADED? ARE YOU OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE, HAVE YOUR HOUSE HOMESTEADED, UHHUH HOMESTEAD? AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO TRANSLATE HOMESTEAD FROM TEXAS.
OH, SHE, SHE SAID THAT SHE WENT TO ASK FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT, BUT BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T HAVE VALID DOCUMENTATION, UH, THEY WERE UNABLE TO ASSIST HER WITH THE HOMESTEAD.
OR MAYBE THE ACL YOU COULD PULL UP.
BUT DEFINITELY LIKE, UM, IF, IF HER NAME IS ON THE DEED, THERE HAS TO BE DOC ENOUGH DOCUMENTATION SOMEWHERE.
AND SHE COULD BE, IF IT'S OUR SENIORS OR HOMESTEADED IN THEIR HOMES.
SO SHE DON'T HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF BEING DISPLACED BECAUSE SHE'S NOT ABLE TO PAY THE TAXES IN HER HOME.
SO IF SHE'S NOT ON THE DEED, WHO LEVEL ON THE DEED, IF THEY'RE OLD ENOUGH, SHE COULD BE HOMESTEADED AND NOT DEAL WITH THAT STRESS.
SHE WENT, SHE'S SAYING THAT SHE DID GO TO TRY TO GET SOME HELP WITH THAT, BUT THE MOMENT THAT SHE SHOWED HER IDENTIFICATION FROM HER COUNTRY, 'CAUSE SHE DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE, SHE WAS TOLD THAT SHE DOESN'T QUALIFY AND THEY COULD NOT HELP HER.
BUT YOU WAS ABLE TO BUY A HOUSE AND GET A DEED BECAUSE SHE HAS A, SHE HAS A HOUSE.
MR. PEGRAM, WHY DON'T YOU, UH, VISIT, BUT IF I CAN GET YOUR CONTACT INFO, WE CAN TALK OFFLINE.
WE ARE DONE WITH THE, UH, MEETING
[02:55:01]
IF YOU WOULD PLEASE, SIR.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YEAH, I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO KNOW, WHAT'S THE NAME OF YOUR ORGANIZATION AGAIN? OH, WORKERS DEFENSE PROJECT.
AND WE'RE A NONPROFIT IN, UH, DALLAS.
ORGANIZER FOR, THEY CALL ME DJ 'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF MARIAS.
OKAY, I'LL GET WITH YOU WHEN HE GETS WITH YOU.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
MR. DO DO WE HAVE ANYONE ELSE WHO, UH, WANTS TO SPEAK? COME ON FORWARD.
SIR, LET'S RESET TO THREE MINUTES IF YOU WOULD PLEASE, SIR, GIVE US YOUR NAME AND, UH, YOUR, UH, DISTRICT OF RESIDENCE.
HI, MY NAME IS LAWRENCE ROBINSON AND I AM A FORMER RESIDENT OF DALLAS DISTRICT FOUR, CURRENTLY RESIDING ELLIS COUNTY.
AND I WANTED TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF MY FAMILY JUST ON THE IDEA OF FLOCK AND JUST OVERALL THE FEAR THAT WE HAVE.
SO JUST LIKE MY FAMILY MEMBERS, JUST LIKE MY LATE GRANDMOTHER, UM, WE, I WORK, I SUPPORT ORGANIZING EFFORTS IN DALLAS.
I COME UP TO I 35 EVERY DAY JUST TO COME AND JUST BE IN THE CITY.
I BAR HOPPING BISHOP HEARTS ON THE WEEKENDS.
AND ULTIMATELY ONE OF THE BIGGEST FEARS THAT I DO FEAR NOT ONLY AS JUST A BLACK MAN, BUT ALSO AS ONE OF THE CAREGIVERS OF MY TWIN BROTHER WITH AUTISM THAT I OFTENTIMES HAVE WITH ME IS JUST BEING SURVEILLED, WELL ADDED FUEL TO THIS FRUSTRATION IS THE FACT THAT THERE ARE THREE FLOCK CAMERAS OUTSIDE MY GRANDMOTHER'S GRANDMOTHER, GRAVE SITE, GRAVE SITE, GRAVE SITE GRAVE.
AND I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT THIS UNTIL LAST NIGHT WHEN I WAS MAKING A SPEECH FOR THIS COUNCIL MEETING OR THIS COMMITTEE MEETING.
AND VERY WELL BE THAT ONE OF THE DATA POINTS IN THE SYSTEM IS OUR FUNERAL PROCESSION WITH HER.
MY LOVED ONES MOURNING OUR MATRIARCH IN OUR FAMILY.
AND THAT MAKES ME UNEASY BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE NUMBERS, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, THE SAFETY RISKS, BUT WE'RE HAVING HUMAN STORIES BEING CAPTURED FOR WHOM TO SEE AND WE DON'T KNOW.
AND ULTIMATELY THAT SCARES ME A LOT.
AND AS A SCIENTIST, AS A HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONER OR HEALTHCARE WORKER, ALSO MORE SO AS MY FAMILY IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OFTENTIMES KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT TO THE POINT WHERE IT MAKES ME AFRAID.
AND SO THAT'S WHY I ADVOCATE FOR THE OVERHAUL OF THE RETENTION POLICY OR THE DATA RETENTION POLICY TO SEVEN DAYS AND REALLY LOWER THAN THAT BECAUSE ULTIMATELY NO ONE'S MOST VULNERABLE MOMENTS SHOULD NOT BE USED AT DATA POINTS FOR A POTENTIAL CRIME OR POTENTIALLY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY WHEN THERE FRANKLY HAS BEEN NOT ANY DATA ON THAT TO SHOW THAT THESE CAMERAS MAKE THE PUBLIC SAFETY.
SO I DO IMPLORE YOU ALL TO USE THE INFLUENCE THAT YOU MAY HAVE OVER THE COUNCIL OVER IN YOUR COMMUNITIES TO BRING MORE ACCOUNTABILITY TO DPD AS WELL AS THE CITY OF DALLAS ON THIS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR STATEMENTS? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
IS THERE ANYONE ELSE WHO, UH, WISHES TO PRESENT AT THIS TIME? DID WE HAVE ANY? WE DID HAVE SOMEBODY ONLINE.
DO WE, DO WE? ALRIGHT, HOOK 'EM UP PLEASE.
IF YOU ARE ONLINE, YOU NEED TO TURN ON YOUR CAMERA SO THAT WE CAN SEE YOU AS WELL AS HEAR YOU.
HI, CAN YOU HEAR ME WELL? YES.
UH, ONE OF THE FIRST QUESTIONS I WAS, UM, THINKING OF WAS ABOUT THE FUNDING TOWARDS FLOCK.
I DID HEAR THAT GOVERNOR ABBOTT, UH, HAD PAUSED FUNDING BACK IN SEPTEMBER 15.
[03:00:02]
AND WHEN, EXCUSE ME WHEN THAT HAPPENED.I DID SEE REPORTS OF, OF IT STILL GOING ON FOR 90 DAYS.
I'M NOT TOO SURE IF IT WAS TOUCHED ON WHETHER OR NOT THE CITY OF DALLAS WAS PAYING FOR IT.
DO WE KNOW, DO WE KNOW ANYONE FROM THE, UH, ALL THE POLICE OFFICERS ARE GONE, BUT DOES ANYBODY ON THE BOARD KNOW? YES, A ACCORDING TO THE NEWS REPORTS, FLOCK IS, FLOCK ITSELF IS COVERING FOR 90 DAYS AND I DON'T KNOW WHETHER WE'RE PAYING FOR IT OR NOT, BUT, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT FLOCK IS COVERING 90 DAYS.
I DID HAVE ANOTHER CONCERN ABOUT THAT.
UM, LET ME TAKE A LOOK AT MY NOTES.
FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THERE WAS NO, NO VOTE FOR THAT, RIGHT? I'M SORRY, WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION? FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THERE WAS NO VOTE FOR THAT, RIGHT? NO, NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE.
AND HOW CAN WE GET TO A POINT WHERE THE BOARD IS INVOLVED IN THESE CHOICES? I BELIEVE WE'LL BE INVOLVED.
WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH A VERY LONG PROCESS HERE THIS EVENING, AND, UH, THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS BOARD IS GOING TO BE INVOLVED EITHER INDIVIDUALLY OR COLLECTIVELY.
I DID ALSO HEAR ABOUT, UM, CONCERNS REGARDING INDEPENDENT AUDITING EARLIER IN THE MEETING.
UM, DO YOU HAVE A, DO YOU HAVE A PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS TIME? MA'AM, WE NEED TO, UM, GET COMMENTS RATHER THAN QUE QUESTIONS.
I'LL JUST WAIT FOR MY NEXT TURN.
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH.
IS THERE ANY OTHER, ANYONE ELSE ON THE PUBLIC COMMENT? ALRIGHT, HAVING, HEARING NONE BOARD MEMBERS BEFORE WE ADJOURN, UH, I AM SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED BY THE DIRECTOR TO ASK THAT YOU LEAVE YOUR BINDERS AND YOUR PROCEDURE SHEETS ON THE DAY.
ARE WE READY FOR A VOTE ON THE ADJOURNMENT? IS THERE A MOTION BE BEFORE, BEFORE WE DO THAT? UM, I APOLOGIZE, BUT, UM, UM, THIS, THIS, UM, FLOCK ISSUE IS, IS TOO CRITICAL FOR US JUST TO ADJOURN WITHOUT, UH, ANY PLANS OF HOW WE'RE GOING TO GET OUR INFORMATION TO ONE ANOTHER AS IT RELATES TO OTHER QUESTIONS THAT WE HAD ABOUT THE PRESENTATIONS THAT WE HEARD.
I GOT QUESTIONS THAT, THAT NEED TO BE ASKED AND I KNOW SOME OF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS AS WELL.
AND, UH, I THINK, THINK EXCUSE POINT, POINT OF ORDER.
IT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA FOR US TO DISCUSS THIS.
ALL RIGHT THEN THAT'S, THAT'S FINE.
UM, I'D LIKE WE HAVE IT ON THE AGENDA AND THEN WE CAN GO INTO ALL THAT DETAIL.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE AN I, NEVERMIND.
YEAH, SEND IT A RECORD, AN EMAIL AND WE'LL PUT IT ON THE AGENDA AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO SOME DEPTH AND WE WILL HAVE THE APPROPRIATE PARTIES HERE TO RESPOND.
AT LEAST I ASSUME ANYTHING FURTHER? IS THERE A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT? MOTION TO ADJOURN.