Four new Flock cameras aren’t hitting the streets of Tiverton quite yet.

 

On Aug. 18, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee called for a statewide pause on new automated license plate reader cameras and ordered a 60-day review to create new statewide standards on the technology.

 

“Public safety and personal privacy are not mutually exclusive. Rhode Island needs clear and consistent rules of the road for this technology,” he wrote in a press release.

 

The governor can’t force cities and towns to stop installing the cameras. But at an Aug. 24 meeting of the Tiverton Town Council, local officials followed McKee’s lead.

 

“I think it would be wise just to follow what the state has asked us to do,” said Council President John G. Edwards.

 

As of Aug. 28, the contract for four new cameras approved by councilors on July 27 has not been signed. The two cameras already operated by Tiverton police are still up and running, Deputy Chief Michael Miguel confirmed to The Herald News.

 

The Rhode Island State Police also has two Flock cameras in Tiverton. State police cameras “may continue to operate,” according to McKee’s proclamation.

 

Automated license plate reader cameras have recently come under intense public scrutiny, with local governments across Massachusetts and Rhode Island canceling contracts with their providers. Though courts have found them to be legal, the cameras that automatically log passing license plates have raised privacy and surveillance concerns; in New Bedford, an officer is accused of misusing the camera system to stalk an ex-girlfriend. Police — including in Fall River, home to over 40 cameras made by Flock Safety — say they make investigations more efficient.

 

See more at heraldnews.com.