COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The Colerain Township Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to invest in license plate reader camera technology in town in response to a town hall facilitated by WCPO 9 News searching for solutions to a recent spate of deadly violence in the region.
The Community Council of Neighborhoods asked WCPO to lead Thursday's discussion following a triple shooting that left two people dead.
More than a dozen people advocated for the adoption of Flock brand cameras ahead of Tuesday's discussion of their adoption in town. In a surprise move, Board President Cathy Ulrich moved to use $50,000 of her discretionary account for license plate readers as Police Chief Edwin Cordie sees fit, and Trustee Matt Wahlert added another $20,000 to that motion for a total of $70,000 so long as Flock representatives could calm his fears about data collection and usage.
Watch our coverage of the board vote here:
Wahlert asked Cordie about potential political persecution with images like bumper stickers captured by the license plate readers.
"What if somebody is riding down the street with an 'F Joe Biden' or 'I hate Trump' and the wrong person is in the White House at the wrong time? Is that data that's going to be used against them and am I providing that data to them?" Wahlert asked.
"That's a felony," Cordie responded. "That's a felony to do that."
Larendra Jackson has lived in town for nearly 20 years and said she had been concerned about the recent violence in Colerain Township ahead of the council meeting.
"I think the cameras sound like a great idea — safety in the area, precaution in the area," Jackson said.
Trustee Dan Unger wasn't sold on the technology offered by Flock and urged Cordie to look into other brands of license plate readers that would allow them to have total control of collected data and usage.
"They're tracking hundreds and hundreds of plates of everyone who drives by, every citizen, and it gives you a real blueprint of where everyone is at a given time," he said.
Unger was also hesitant to put another tax levy to support the police department before voters in the wake of two failed votes. Unger said in order for one to pass it would need to be half the millage of previous levies for voters to support it among higher costs.
Cordie pointed to a significant shortage of police officers for the call volume they respond to at Thursday's meeting.
Unger's solution, on the other hand, was to lean into code enforcement as part of a policy often called "broken windows" to deter crime or violence in the area.
"We try to address all these quality of life issues and make it a better place to live," he said.
Despite his concerns, Unger voted to advance Ulrich and Wahlert's motion on spending their discretionary funds on license plate readers acknowledging they'd supported his expenditure for summer camps.
Wahlert said his funds would only be allocated if a Flock representative were to meet with council and explain how citizen data wouldn't be used for reasons other than law enforcement.
City administrators pledged to set up a meeting with Flock representatives in the near future, and a final contract for the camera's purchase and implementation could be before council at the next meeting on Feb. 11.
The second major solution proposed by people at Thursday's meeting facilitated by WCPO was the adoption of a cruiser tracking system to ensure officers were being efficient with their time on the clock.
Chief Cordie indicated to the board that technology was already in place as part of their Axon body-worn camera systems.
