LOUISIANA COUNCILMAN CONSIDERS WARRANT REQUIREMENT INSTEAD OF REMOVING FLOCK CAMERAS

LOUISIANA, MISSOURI — Louisiana City Councilman Woodrow Polston is asking residents whether they would support keeping the city’s Flock Safety license plate reader cameras if access to stored camera information generally required a search warrant.

Polston previously proposed removing the cameras, but said Saturday that he was contacted by a retired military police officer and former Pike County detective who encouraged the city to consider additional safeguards rather than eliminating the system.

The retired officer provided Polston with a memorandum arguing that the cameras can assist law enforcement with stolen vehicles, missing persons, violent crimes and other investigations where quickly identifying a vehicle may provide an important lead. The memorandum cited the 2010 abduction of four-year-old Alisa Maier from Louisiana as an example of the type of emergency in which vehicle identification information could potentially assist investigators, while acknowledging that Flock cameras did not exist at the time and there is no way to know whether they would have changed the outcome.

The proposal would require officers to obtain a warrant supported by probable cause before conducting certain searches intended to identify or track a specific vehicle or person. Exceptions could be permitted during emergencies involving an immediate threat to life, missing persons or other urgent circumstances.

The memorandum also recommends limiting access to authorized personnel, maintaining written policies, auditing searches and periodically reviewing the city’s procedures.

Polston stressed that the Flock camera issue is not listed on Monday’s city business agenda and will instead be discussed during a future meeting or public hearing.