On Thursday night, the Abington Township Board of Commissioners voted to terminate the contract with Flock Safety and to adopt a new automated license‑plate reader system for the township police department. The decision follows growing concerns from residents and lawmakers about the breadth of data collected by the existing cameras.

Local officials cite privacy safeguards

Commissioners said the new system will include tighter controls on how vehicle‑identification data is stored and shared, limiting access to law‑enforcement personnel without a warrant. “We want to protect our community’s privacy while still giving our officers the tools they need to keep the streets safe,” one commissioner explained.

Background on the controversy

Flock Safety’s cameras photograph every passing vehicle and automatically upload the information to a searchable database. Critics have argued that the technology enables warrant‑less searches of motorists’ movements, raising constitutional questions about the Fourth Amendment. The company is currently under investigation by Congress after multiple reports of law‑enforcement officers misusing the database.

In addition, a public website allows drivers to check whether their license plates have been scanned by Flock cameras, further fueling privacy concerns among Abington residents.

Next steps

The township will begin the procurement process for a replacement system that complies with the new data‑sharing limits. Commissioners plan to hold a public hearing next month to gather community input on the specifications and oversight mechanisms for the new technology.

Abington Township remains one of several municipalities in Montgomery County reevaluating the use of automated license‑plate readers in response to heightened scrutiny at both state and federal levels.

Original reporting: Allentown News – 6abc Philadelphia — read the source article.