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Did Flock Safety try to sell private data without the City of Sheboygan’s Consent? According to a resolution to terminate the City’s contract with the service, that’s exactly what happened.
The Common Council will meet tonight to vote on the resolution which states that Sheboygan police were made aware of an email by a Flock Safety Account Representative who offered to sell the Sheboygan Department of Public Works anonymized data for traffic volume; vehicle types and speed data; offering up to five years of data utilizing the existing 15 cameras already deployed in the City of Sheboygan under the “Master Services Agreement…all in violation of the company’s agreement with the City.
Sheboygan Police officials say they were not aware of the agreement, nor did they consent. According to the Master Service Agreement, the company does not own the data that’s collected and they are only to retain data for 30 days.
——Other Municipalities Also Seek Cancellation——
Since Sheboygan officials announced their intent to cancel their contract with Flock Safety last month, other cities have been following suit. On Friday, both the Fond du Lac County law enforcement agencies and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office announced the immediate suspension of all Flock Safety products currently in use. Fond Du Lac officials say their decisions came following information that search data from their Flock systems, including records tied to active investigations, was disclosed to the public by law enforcement agencies in other states in response to open records requests they received, making it accessible nationwide, in spite of the fact that no authorization was given by Fond du Lac County. The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office cited similar discovery of unauthorized release of data from their records. That office coordinated with the Neenah, Menasha, Fox Crossing, Winneconne and UW Oshkosh Police Departments to discontinue the system’s use.
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