LINCOLN COUNTY, Idaho — The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office will stop using Flock cameras, Sheriff René King announced today.
King said the decision was not political and did not amount to taking sides. Instead, he said it followed months of listening to community concerns and determining the appropriate path forward for the office.
Over the past several months, debate over the camera system has focused on privacy, data collection and retention, who can access the information and how the technology could be used.
King said the sheriff’s office implemented safeguards intended to ensure responsible use of the system. Under the office’s policy, deputies were required to have a case number or call-for-service number before conducting a search.
Searches were audited every 28 days, he said, and access and accountability standards were handled similarly to the agency’s Idaho Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, or ILETS, policy.
“Because of the concerns surrounding this technology, our office took steps to ensure it was being used responsibly,” King said in a Facebook statement.
King said the change does not diminish the system’s past success or deputies’ work using it.
“After evaluating the benefits, concerns and responsibilities that come with this technology, I believe it is time for us to move in a different direction,” he said.
This article was originally published by KMVT.
