MOUNT VERNON — Does it ever feel like somebody’s watching you? In Mount Vernon, that “somebody” may actually be a something — a Flock Safety camera.
The Mount Vernon Police Department uses Flock cameras, an automated license plate readers system, to capture vehicle-related information, according to an official statement.
As a motion-activated system, the technology captures license plate numbers and other vehicle-related information as cars pass by.
The city currently operates eight Flock cameras. Additional cameras in Mount Vernon, of which there are six, are owned by private businesses or other entities, according to Mount Vernon Police Chief Robert Morgan.
MVPD does have access to some of the data collected by these private businesses through sharing agreements. However, MVPD only shares its data with other law enforcement agencies, Morgan said.
“We don’t share our data with the general public. We do share our data with other agencies that agree to our terms — that it’s only used for a law enforcement purpose … Some civilian entities can share their data with us, (but) we don’t share our data with them,” Morgan said.
How is the data stored?
Collected data is stored on a rolling 30 day “purge” system, according to Morgan. Any data collected is deleted after 30 days and cannot be used. The data collected is not public record.
“Only authorized department personnel who have completed the mandatory Criminal Justice Information Services Law Enforcement Automated Data System compliance training and system certification can access the Flock database,” according to the statement.
The system allows officers to search for license plate numbers, make, model and color of a car. There is no facial recognition technology equipped in the cameras and the technology is not used for speed or traffic enforcement, according to the statement.
According to the Flock Transparency Portal — platformed by Flock and opted-into by MVPD — 152,293 unique plates have been read and 55 user search sessions have occurred over the last 30 days, as of July 16.
“Every search that that an officer initiates, the system logs the request … and they have to put a reason down,” Morgan said.
Supervisors audit these requests on a regular basis to ensure employees use the system appropriately and the reasons are legitimate.
Flock cameras have also captured 661 “Hotlist Hits” in the past 30 days. “Hits” come from the FBI’s National Crime Information Center and state databases to flag stolen vehicles, missing persons and more.
How does MVPD use the cameras?
MVPD utilizes Flock cameras to help investigations, according to Morgan.
“We’ve had over 40 cases they’ve been directly involved with, and we’ve got leads on them for other things. We’ve used them in warrants … we’ve used them in car crashes,” Morgan said.
Morgan shared a specific example of Flock camera use, which concerned a domestic violence case. The Flock camera system was able to confirm that an individual had violated a protection order, despite claiming otherwise.
“They’re no smoking gun but they help us put a case together,” Morgan said.
MVPD has used Flock Safety technology for about three years. The Justice Assistance Grant from the Office of Criminal Justice Services funds much of the technology, according to Morgan.
In 2025, JAG awarded $7,000.30 to MVPD.
“City Council was made aware when we accepted the grant funds … We explained to them what the grant funds were for and a basic outline of what the system does, and it was accepted,” Morgan said.
Each camera costs about $3,000 per year, according to Morgan.
Addressing public privacy concerns
There are 14 total Flock cameras in Knox County (as of July 16), all located in Mount Vernon, according to a DeFlock map. DeFlock is a community-driven project to find and map Flock cameras. The organization advocates against the usage of these cameras.
MVPD operates eight of these cameras, and the other six are owned by private businesses or other entities, according to Morgan.
In fact, public concerns regarding Flock cameras have mounted in the past year. Many civil rights organizations, like ACLU of Ohio, have condemned the usage of these cameras in the past.
While Morgan appreciates the concern, “there’s really no expectation of privacy (in) those public places. That’s been set down from litigation from many years past,” he said.
“We live in a very high tech world with lots of technology that captures our every movement … I can appreciate the people that believe that way. (But) most of the people that I’ve spoken to, understand that it’s a tool that aids law enforcement and aids public safety.”
There will be a Police, Fire and Civil Defense Committee meeting on July 27, prior to the Mount Vernon City Council meeting at 7:30 p.m.
MVPD’s ALPR Policy Manual is attached below.
