Fresno PD is drawing fire over its use of Flock surveillance cameras. Strong opposition is being voiced by residents concerned about privacy and government big brother.
Dozens gathered recently at the Ted C. Wills Center, where speaker after speaker urged city leaders to drop the Flock program.
The cameras capture images of vehicles and license plates to help investigators identify suspects, but critics say the system amounts to mass surveillance and threatens personal privacy.
In an exclusive interview with KMJ’s Ray Appleton on Tuesday, Chief Mindy Casto acknowledged concerns but said the technology has become a critical crime-fighting tool.
According to FPD, Flock cameras played a role in 79% of local homicide investigations and 39% of shooting cases over the past year.
About 70 cameras are currently installed across Fresno. Casto emphasized the system does not use facial recognition and said data sharing is limited to a small group of California law enforcement agencies.
Police say monthly audits are conducted, and officials are now exploring whether those reports can be made public to increase transparency.
