Oviedo city leaders are set to revisit the city’s Flock camera program as residents raise questions about privacy, data security and how information collected by the cameras may be used.
The City Council is expected to meet with Flock representatives Monday at City Hall as it considers whether to keep the cameras operating. Police have described the technology as a tool to help catch criminals and keep people safe, but some residents and city officials want more answers before the program continues.
“How they’re actually going to be used? What if they’re operating 24 over seven? I don’t know any of this. What data they’re collecting?” said Catherine Kissinger, who is moving to Oviedo.
The city approved the installation of eight Flock cameras last September. Since then, concerns have grown over who can access the data, whether other agencies can use it and how the information could be misused.
One resident said the information tied to a license plate can reveal a lot.
“You can get a lot from a license plate number,” Abriana Phillips said. “Even when cops pull you over, all they have to do is run it and then it’s like they see you. It’s registered to date of birth, age, all that stuff, your address.”
The city has already spent $32,800 of the $50,000 approved for the program. The current contract runs for five years, but the council could end it without penalty if the city does not appropriate money for the program in its 2026-27 budget.
The final budget is expected to be adopted Sept. 21.
“What’s going on with the technology that’s what’s going to be the crux of it,” Mayor Megan Sladek said. “It’s going to be for Oviedo City Council.”
The discussion comes a week after a 24-year-old man was arrested for allegedly cutting down a Flock camera setup near Arrowroot Place and Lockwood Boulevard in Oviedo.
Some residents said they see both sides of the debate.
“I think it’s a bit of an invasion of my privacy, and on the other hand, if it were to help solve a crime, I think that would be good,” Oviedo resident Diana Victory said. “However, I do feel that we have a lot of surveillance already.”
The cameras remain in operation, and no final decision has been made on whether to deactivate them. The council is expected to take up the issue Monday at City Hall.