TWIN FALLS, Idaho — City Council chambers were packed Monday night as hundreds of Twin Falls neighbors turned out for a city budget presentation to voice concerns about the police department's use of automated license plate readers, known as Flock cameras.
The cameras, which supporters say help solve crimes, have drawn growing criticism from neighbors who argue the technology is creating a nationwide surveillance network.
HEAR: Neighbors and police speak at Twin Falls City Council meeting
"Freedom's not lost one dramatic moment. It is lost one compromise at a time," Twin Falls neighbor Kandace Miano said during the meeting's public comment period.
Police Chief Matthew Hicks acknowledged public discourse has become heated in recent weeks.
"As you know, the TFPD strives to maintain and build upon one successful thing all police departments have: that's community trust, the core of what we do, the core culture of our organization," Hicks said.
Hicks cited several examples of how the cameras reduced investigative time in murder and kidnapping cases.
Within weeks of installing its first automated license plate readers in 2023, the Twin Falls Police Department arrested a wanted out-of-state sex offender with a child victim in the vehicle.
"It does not replace the requirements that an officer must take before an enforcement action. An (Automated License Plate Reader) alert is just an investigative lead. It's not proof of a crime," Hicks said.
But neighbors raised concerns about how the companies that operate the network use the data.
"All it takes is one corrupt council, one corrupt police chief, one corrupt policeman," said Steve Ogan. "Is that gonna happen? Probably not, but it can. So this is spying on people a little too much."
Tyler Cain of DeFlock Idaho traveled from Wilder to attend the meeting.
"They're using the cameras beyond what other cities are. They're also allowed sharing federally, and by doing federally, they're allowing searches that aren't allowed under Idaho code," Cain said.
Cain previously filed a tort claim against Caldwell, and on Monday notified Twin Falls that he would file a tort claim against the city.
In his presentation, Chief Hicks listed three concessions the department made in its budget proposal, including opting out of a national lookup package, revoking Flock's permission to use Twin Falls data for training purposes and removing a real-time video product from its fiscal year 2027 budget request.
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