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SECOND AND FINAL READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2023 BUDGET OF THE CITY OF COMMERCE CITY, COLORADO, BY TRANSFERRING $298,800 FROM THE UNENCUMBERED FUND BALANCE OF THE GENERAL FUND TO THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FUND FOR COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FLOCK CAMERA SYSTEM AND AUTHORIZING THE EXPENDITURE THEREOF
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Summary and Background Information
On 09/18/23 CCPD gave a presentation introducing Flock Safety products and their potential to impact criminal activity and criminal investigations in a small section of the City (14% of the City geographically), that accounts for 40% of all the shots fired and gunshot wound calls received by CCPD.
Council posed a number of questions during the presentation, answers to which have been researched and included below.
I. 4th Amendment Concerns: The equipment will all be installed on public property. 4th Amendment violation risks are minimal, so long as these devices are not targeted to conduct extended surveillance on a protected area like curtilage. The Police Department will take reasonable steps to ensure that the video camera angle is directed at a public roadway/area where the expectation of privacy to the public is diminished under the 4th Amendment.
II. Potential for Abuse or Misuse: We have examined this, and we have not been able to identify any areas where abuse could occur, as the cameras are constantly recording generating their own audit trail with regard to anything photographed, meaning any focused use of the camera, panning, tilting, or zooming in any fashion would generate for users the ability to learn who took such action. In addition, since the footage is retained for at least 30 days, there exists no way for any such user to delete the footage captured or the record of the individual who captured the footage. Supervisors or others with access could regularly review any footage to ensure misuse or abuse is not occurring.
III. Partnering with School Districts: Flock Safety advise...
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