Flock Cameras Rival Wind Turbines for Popularity in Idaho

Flock cameras are annoying a large swathe of the Idaho public.  Over the weekend, I saw a Facebook post from former state legislator Chad Christensen.  It was a picture of a Flock camera down on a street in Pocatello.  Maybe the wind knocked it over (it’s east Idaho, after all), but there is a growing curse of vandalism involving the cameras nationwide.  There are better ways to challenge policy than to break the law and damage property paid for by taxpayers.  Approach your local town boards or city councils.

Opposition is Bi-Partisan

Opposition is coming from both the left and the right.  Mother Jones is a magazine named after a 19th-century socialist.  The magazine carried a story about how even good people in law enforcement are tempted to abuse the technology.  We had a similar instance in Jerome County several months ago.

Trading Liberty for Safety

Flock is the name of the leading manufacturer of the devices.  The primary use is to track vehicles reported stolen or used in other crimes.  In Blaine County, an arrest was made through use of the cameras after a homeowner in Ketchum said a man with a gun menaced him.  The cameras are also legal, according to the Chief of Police in Idaho Falls.  As I mentioned in a post last week, we give up more personal details with our phones than with the cameras deployed.  However, we do that voluntarily, and that’s where the worries about civil liberties arise.  We would all be safer if we were assigned government minders 24 hours a day, but when you consider the motives of bureaucracies, is that what you want?