Marshall County Commissioners end FLOCK Camera auto-renewal, cite privacy concerns

The Marshall County Commissioners voted Monday to notify FLOCK Safety that the county will not allow the automatic renewal of its current license plate reader contract, opting instead to renegotiate the agreement on an annual basis amid ongoing concerns about data privacy and Fourth Amendment protections.

The decision follows a review of the county's FLOCK camera contract by County Attorney Sean Surrisi, who was asked two weeks ago by Commissioner Jesse Bohannon to examine the agreement. Surrisi reported that the contract, originally signed September 14, 2021, with a 24-month term, contains an automatic renewal clause. The contract was renewed for another 24 months, extending its term through September 13, 2027.

Commissioner Adam Faulstich presented findings from the audit reports for the Bremen Police Department covering June 15 to July 15 of this year. The audit showed that over those 30 days, the Marshall County Prosecutor's Office, Plymouth Police Department, and Bremen Police Department conducted a total of 407 searches — less than 1% of the county's total population.

Faulstich said the documentation was "pretty good," with the Plymouth Police Department showing the strongest record. "Plymouth PD has the best documentation as far as making sure all their I's are dotted, and T's are crossed from what I've seen," he said.

He noted that local searches typically involve a reasonable scope, with most involving no more than 100 different assisting entities. The average, approximately 1,500 entities, appears to be concentrated in the northern Indiana area. One local search — for a missing girl — hit 62 other entities.

Faulstich's primary concern was the volume of searches conducted by outside agencies. He said there were more than 540,000 searches on the Bremen cameras, and most were not from the state of Indiana.

"The good news is, documentation looks pretty good across the board," Faulstich said. "We are doing everything right, but we can't control what others are doing outside our area."

Faulstich said he is opposed to the use of FLOCK drones, streaming video, and facial recognition, and wants to maintain only the license plate reader portion of the system.

Commissioner Bohannon said about half of the total searches did not include case numbers, though he noted that figure was not specific to local agencies.

"I don't philosophically agree with preemptively collecting data on people before we have reasonable suspicion they may have committed a crime," Bohannon said. He called for a more in-depth conversation with the agencies that use the tool to see whether its use can be brought in line with the Fourth Amendment.

Bohannon suggested termination of the current contract.

Commissioner Stan Klotz said he slightly disagreed with terminating the contract outright. While he supports moving to a yearly contract, Klotz noted that the new prosecuting attorney and sheriff — who will take office at the first of the year — should have a voice in the decision. 

Following further discussion, the commissioners voted to notify FLOCK that the county will not allow the auto-renewal of the existing contract. Instead, the county plans to renew annually if the commissioners and council deem it justified.

The current contract ends on September 13, 2027. Marshall County will consider renegotiating a new contract next year with the input of the new prosecutor and sheriff.