By Michael Glenn
Teen-Age Dirtbag
We’re at the point in the semester where refreshing tea has been traded for bitter espresso, and I’m ready for it to switch back.
It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed my nearly full year in Lawrence at the University of Kansas, but there’s something about the quietness and feeling of being back in Hutch for one more summer that I’m looking forward to.
But just in case I would forget about all my great memories in Lawrence, thank goodness we have Flock cameras to ensure that never happens!
What are Flock cameras? They aren’t for birdwatching, not even Jayhawks. Rather, they are a privately-owned and controlled company that has convinced local governments, law enforcement agencies and businesses to install surveillance cameras around municipalities, such as in busy intersections. These cameras provide comprehensive surveillance for their installers and for the company that records the data.
Private companies, for better or worse, have the option to install whatever they want on their property, including these cameras.
However, public actors such as police departments and city governments should come under intense scrutiny before any installation. That didn’t happen in Reno County, as although Brendan Ulmer and The Hutchinson Tribune reported on their use, neither the Hutchinson Police Department or Reno County Sheriff’s Office gave any information to the public on their installation or use.
In the story, the only person willing to speak up was then-Haven Police Chief Stephen Schaffer, who said that their department ran a trial with Flock and reported their officers “loved it.”
We should not make law enforcement’s job any easier. Their job isn’t meant to be easy. In fact, it’s our constitutional rights to make their job as difficult as possible, such as the right to not self-incriminate, right to remain silent and the right to an attorney at questioning.
I’ve always been told the only words you should say to an officer are “I’m not talking to you, I want to speak to an attorney,” or something along those lines. These protections are in place because our judicial and criminal justice systems act on the assumption of innocence.
But in the age of mass surveillance by companies like Flock, these rights are often thrown out and overlooked due to massive databases and behind-the-scenes records that flip the script on the “innocent until proven guilty” mantra.
Constant surveillance is already taken for granted, especially by people in my generation, and it’s disappointing to see. I’ve never lived in a non-surveillance state before, since I was born after the PATRIOT Act in 2004, but these cameras are physical symbols in an already-bent system that seems to add more insult, let alone injury, to the public.
I’ve briefly followed the Kansas City and Lawrence subreddit social media channels that have frequented discussion surrounding these cameras, and the general consensus is overwhelmingly negative. I think if you asked anyone about the implementation of these 30 years ago, or even 10, you would’ve been laughed out of the council chambers.
Much has changed in those years, as I’m sure we all know. The most eye-opening factor that doesn’t get discussed enough is our general malcontent of our neighbors. More and more of us believe the people we live next to, work by and engage in civic discussion with are inherently “un-American,” immoral or evil.
When we don’t trust each other, our communities fall apart. We become more likely to believe in public surveillance and mass monitoring because we assume our neighbors and community members need it. This has been exacerbated by our addictive digital dopamine factories we call smartphones and social media, where algorithms intentionally hijack our brain wiring to make us mad, disgusted, shocked (and even) happy, proud and invincible at whatever they choose to display on the screen.
And companies like Flock work with large-scale data brokers to sell your data information to the highest bidder, according to the ACLU, which is almost certainly for advertising and microtargeting.
Ever since 9/11, we’ve seen our civil liberties routinely curbed in the name of national security, to the point where it’s not even a joke anymore if the FBI or CIA doesn’t have the ability to listen or know what’s going on at any time.
Unfortunately, this has even trickled down to the local level. According to one Reddit user on the Kansas City subreddit, the only thing these cameras are useful for are “for how much copper and silver they have in them.” I’ve also found out they contain platinum, but only a miniscule amount worth a few cents.
I’d encourage you to reach out to HPD and the sheriff’s office to hear why these devices are installed in our community outside of broad descriptions like “fostering public safety,” and to the Hutchinson City Council and Reno County Commission to voice your concern for the allowance of these in our public streets.
Michael Glenn is the founding publisher of The Hutchinson Tribune and a current student at the University of Kansas. He can be reached at mglenn@hutchtribune.com.