Support Public Safety While Demanding Responsible Use and Accountability

We, the undersigned residents and community members of Brunswick County, North Carolina, respectfully ask that Brunswick County and the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office continue the responsible use of Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras as a tool to assist law enforcement and protect our community.

We recognize that concerns have been raised about privacy, data sharing, wrongful vehicle identification, and misuse of automated license plate reader systems in other jurisdictions. These concerns should be taken seriously. We support clear policies, appropriate data-retention limits, auditing, transparency, officer training, and accountability to help prevent misuse.

We believe decisions concerning our community should be based on how the system is actually being used in Brunswick County, its demonstrated benefits and risks, and the safeguards our local agencies have in place.

Flock cameras can provide law enforcement with an important investigative tool. Vehicle information may assist officers investigating:

* Missing or abducted children and AMBER Alerts
* Missing or endangered adults, including people with cognitive impairments
* Stolen vehicles
* Kidnappings and other serious crimes
* Hit-and-run crashes
* Burglaries and thefts
* Vehicles associated with wanted or dangerous individuals

When minutes matter, knowing that a vehicle passed a particular location can give investigators information about where to look next.

For many of us, this issue becomes much clearer when we consider our own families. If our child, parent, spouse, friend, or other loved one were missing or abducted and investigators knew the vehicle involved, we would want law enforcement to have every reasonable and lawful tool available to help locate them as quickly as possible.

The possibility that technology can be misused is a reason to establish strong safeguards—not necessarily a reason to eliminate technology that can also be used to protect and potentially save lives.

Therefore, we respectfully ask Brunswick County and the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office to continue using the Flock Safety camera system while maintaining strong privacy protections, transparency, auditing, appropriate data-access policies, and accountability for misuse.

We support public safety AND responsible oversight.

Keep the Flock Safety cameras. Protect their proper use. Hold misuse accountable. Give law enforcement responsible tools to help protect Brunswick County.