Flock cameras getting vandalized, has anyone actually seen them used here?

Saw this over the weekend, my grandson sent it to me: Conway police say flock cameras targeted by vandals. Wasn't even sure what a Flock camera was until I read it. Apparently they read license plates and there's a bunch of them around town now.

I'm kind of torn honestly. We had two car break-ins on our street out in Beaverfork in the last couple years and I'd have loved for somebody to catch whoever did it. But I also keep wondering who gets to search all that, and how long they hang onto it. Nobody seems to say that part out loud.

The comments on that reddit post are all over the place. Half say it's the only thing that gets cars recovered and the other half say it's a way to track everybody. And then somebody says it's never actually helped anyone in Conway, and somebody else says it did, and nobody links to anything. So I'm asking here. Does anybody personally know of a case where the footage was used locally? Not a friend of a friend, I mean actually.

Not defending whoever tore them up, that's not the way to do it. But I'd like to know the rules before I decide how I feel. My mother used to say Conway was a town where you didn't lock the car at Kroger. Those days are long gone, but I'm not sure this is the fix either.

Can't point to a case where I know the footage was used, so I'm in the same boat as you. A buddy of mine had a rod and two tackle boxes taken out of his truck at the Beaverfork ramp last spring. Police took a report, but nobody ever mentioned cameras or followed up. Could be those cameras just aren't anywhere near where that kind of thing happens 🤷

I'm not totally against them, but I'd want to know the retention window and who can run searches before I say they're worth it. Seems like the city could just post that on their site. And yeah, tearing them up doesn't help. It just gives them an excuse to say "see, we need more of them."

That's a good point about the ramp, Matthew. I'd bet most of those cameras are on the bigger roads like Dave Ward and Oak Street, not down by the lake, so a tackle box theft wouldn't show up on one anyway. Which is kind of my question, if they're not where the break-ins happen, what are they for?

Agree on the "see we need more" part. That's exactly how it goes.

I might call the police non-emergency line Monday and just ask how long they keep it and who can search it. If I get a straight answer I'll post it here. If I get the runaround, that tells us something too.

Good idea calling Monday, Barb. I'd ask them to put the retention and search policy in writing, too. Arkansas has the FOIA law, so if they dodge you on the phone you can file a request and they have to answer.

I don't know of a case here either, and I've been out at Lake Conway a long time. Had a neighbor lose an outboard motor off his dock a few years back, and nobody ever said a word about cameras. Dave Ward and Oak are where the cameras are, so that tracks.

I'm not dead set against them, but I'd like to hear it from the city and not from reddit. Let us know what they tell you.

Matthew, if your buddy still has the report number from the ramp, he could ask whether anyone ever looked at camera footage for it. Probably not, but that'd be a real answer from someone it actually happened to, and not a "friend of a friend."

And thanks Rick, I forgot all about the FOIA route. I'll ask nicely first and keep the paperwork in my back pocket 🙂 no wait, no emoji for me, I'll just say I'll try the phone first.

My mother used to say the lake was the one place in Conway where you never had to think about any of this. People left boats and gear sitting out and nobody touched them. Guess that's gone too.

Thanks for doing the legwork, Barb. Post what they tell you, even if it's the runaround.

Fine to disagree on whether the cameras are worth it. Just keep it on the policy and not each other, and don't guess about who tore them up.