The Columbus Division of Police says it is working to restrict agencies from having access to data from its Flock license plate readers, but that removing the cameras altogether would mean less crimes get solved.
On Wednesday, CPD Deputy Chief Tim Myers walked reporters through findings of an audit of the city's Flock data ahead of an Aug. 10 public hearing on the topic before Columbus City Council.
The audit found more than 15,000 system searches out of almost 20 million were immigration-related and only one was done by a Columbus police officer.
Activists in Columbus and around the country have demanded cities remove Flock cameras. Many have done so, including Dayton and Newport, Kentucky. But other cities like Fort Wayne, Indiana and Columbus have not yet made decisions.
Myers went to bat for Flock and says the cameras aid crime solving, including about 60% of last year's homicides. That included the December murders of Spencer and Monique Tepe in Weinland Park, where Flock cameras tracked Monique's ex-husband, Michael D. McKee, as he drove away from the scene. McKee was eventually arrested and is awaiting trial on charges of aggravated murder.
Myers said Columbus police will stop using the tool altogether if directed, but that could have consequences.
"The community will get exactly what it asks for. Part of my job though is to make it very clear that we will solve fewer crimes. That is demonstrable and beyond dispute," Myers said.
Specifically, the audit found Immigration and Customs Enforcement itself didn't conduct searches of Columbus' data. But U.S. Border Patrol, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies have searched CPD's data more than 700 times since November 2023.
Another 600 searches were done by agencies that work with ICE under 287(g) agreements. Those are voluntary partnerships between ICE and state or local law enforcement agencies, delegating federal immigration enforcement authority to them.
The remaining 15,000 searches were largely done by non-287(g) agencies. The audit found Columbus police only searched its data for immigration-related reasons 20 times. But Myers said police are only concerned with one person searching the system six times where the stated reason is "ICE."
"We're looking into that and we're going to get that answer," Myers said.
An executive summary Columbus police provided after the media interview said the data proves searches for immigration-related purposes were "relatively infrequent" and that locally it was "nearly nonexistent."
The city said the 15,000 searches represented less than 1% of the 19.6 million total searches of CPD's system since November 2023.
Columbus police have instituted some safeguards and Myers said he is lobbying Flock as a company to be more responsible to community concerns about the technology.
Those changes included enabling search filters in December to exclude CPD's devices from searches related to immigration enforcement or reproductive care.
In April, Columbus police asked Flock to enable an "opt-out" for Columbus not to share with 287(g) agencies. Chief Elaine Bryant also directed CPD to withdraw from sharing data nationally.
Last week, Mayor Andrew Ginther also ordered CPD to stop statewide sharing.
Myers said if all of these steps were taken from the date the audit started, the 15,000 total searches for immigration reasons would be reduced to only 300.
"And then when you look at what those 300 would be, it's broad search reasons related to Homeland Security investigations. So again, no direct information that it's related to immigration enforcement," Myers said.
He specified that not all Homeland Security investigations are immigration-related and are for criminal investigations like child sexual assault material, human trafficking, abductions and other transnational issues.
Myers acknowledged that recently the Trump administration has used Homeland Security agents for immigration enforcement. The data dates back to the final two years of the Biden administration.
Myers said CPD still has one-on-one data sharing agreements with regional law enforcement agencies, but that none of these include 287(g) agencies.
"We want to make sure that anybody that we're still partnered with is somebody who is going to use the technology for purposes that we also agree with and align with our values," Myers said.
When asked if he fully trusts the company, Myers didn't answer directly. In an interview with Forbes, Flock's CEO referred to anti-Flock activists as "terroristic."
Myers said he's continuing to have conversations with Flock about ways Columbus can better control who sees its data.
"I have challenged Flock to be responsive to the needs of this community and I've made it very clear that I don't need their help communicating with the public or with council or with any other stakeholders," Myers said.
The Columbus City Council Public Hearing is set for 4 p.m. on Aug. 10.
