By admin 
License plate-reading cameras made by Atlanta-based Flock Safety have become a flashpoint across South Carolina, drawing vandalism, bans and police firings this summer.
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Here’s a rundown of the latest developments as communities across the Palmetto State debate the technology’s use.
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- Two Flock cameras in Irmo were sprayed with foam sealant during the second week, and no suspects had been identified in the vandalism as of Aug. 18. The cameras have been repaired at no cost to the town, Town Administrator Jim Crosland told The State.
- Irmo Town Council approved a contract in July to triple its network from 11 to 33 cameras at a cost of $403,050, and Councilman Gabriel Penfield — the sole vote against the expansion — asked his colleagues to reconsider amid public opposition at an Aug. 18 meeting. The motion failed to advance due to the lack of a second at the meeting.
- Oconee County Council gave initial 4-1 approval to a measure banning Flock and other automated license-plate reading cameras, making it the first county in South Carolina to limit the technology.
- The Oconee County ordinance prohibits county funding for the cameras, bans them from county property and threatens to withhold county funds from municipalities that use them. Sheriff Mike Crenshaw had touted the cameras’ usefulness just a week before the vote.
- Greer paused its use of Flock cameras for 90 days starting Aug. 21 after two police officers were fired for allegedly conducting unauthorized searches and entering false information, with the city’s 10 cameras covered by plastic bags during the review.
- Greer Administrator Andy Merriman said the pause is meant to examine how the program is being implemented and whether it violates personal privacy, according to reporting on the Greer Police Department firings.
- The website DeFlock has built a crowd-sourced map showing 125,000 license-plate readers nationwide, including clusters of the cameras around Columbia. Five Points, the Prisma Health Richland campus and areas along Broad River and Bush River roads are among those under surveillance.
- Flock Safety recently announced new features to flag abnormal searches and shorten its data retention period from 30 days to seven, though critics continue to push back against widespread use of the cameras.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.
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