The White County Commission rejected funding for the purchase and continued use of surveillance cameras during its meeting Monday.
The board voted to remove just under $48,000 intended for the purchase of Flock Safety license plate readers. Funds in next year’s budget also restricted from use on the camera system. Resident Caleb Tange one of many citizens to speak against the cameras.
“These block cameras are a breach of our Fourth Amendment right,” Tange said. “They may just seem like a couple of cameras around town to help protect us, but they are foundational infrastructure as a technocratic mass surveillance and tracking system.”
The system uses cameras to capture still images of vehicles and license plates, which are then uploaded to a searchable database.
While a representative from Flock Safety told the board the data is purged after 30 days and does not utilize facial recognition, residents expressed concern over the potential for “mission creep” and the privatization of public surveillance data.
“You should not have to explain to the government why you went to a doctor, a church, a political meeting, or a friend’s house,” Resident Leanne Littlejohn said. “Yet this creates exactly that capability.”
The commission initially considered a motion to completely remove the $44,000 subscription cost from the Sheriff’s Department budget to reduce a projected $389,000 deficit. However, the board opted to keep the money within the department’s budget while stripping the specific authorization to spend it on the surveillance technology.
The 12 cameras currently operated by the county will likely be affected by the funding rejection, though cameras operated by Sparta remain under a separate jurisdiction. Any future attempt to fund the system would require the Sheriff’s Department to submit a new request to the Budget Committee.
The department wanted to use equipment sale proceeds and forfeited funds for this year’s purchase.
