By Teriza West, FOX23 News
The Tulsa Police Department met with members of the community to discuss license plate reading cameras on Monday.
The “Community Transparency Session” held at Tulsa Tech’s Lemley Campus focused on FLOCK cameras and highlighted topics such as how the cameras work and how police use them to help solve cases.
Police also answered questions that were submitted online.
Automatic License Plate Readers like FLOCK cameras have been a controversial topic. Communities across the country, including here in Oklahoma, have decided not to use the cameras over concerns about constitutional rights and privacy.
TPD Chief Johnathan Brooks shared why he believes the technology is so divisive.
“There’s a lot of factors [that] play into this. Some of it is misinformation, and some of it is making sure that everybody understands we are protecting constitutional rights and privacy as well as trying to keep our community safe,” said Brooks. “There’s a balance between those two to find out where those exist. So, that is the controversy. Everybody wants to feel safe in their homes, but everybody wants to feel like their privacy is also protected.”
Chief Brooks said meetings like Monday night’s are a part of the department’s efforts to build a strong relationship and trust with the Tulsa community.
The mayor’s office will begin another round of community conversations on public safety on October 26th.
