Tracy expanding Flock camera system as other Northland cities pull back

TRACY, Mo — KSHB 41 reporter Marlon Martinez covers Platte and Clay counties in Missouri. Share your story idea with Marlon.

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Tracy, Missouri is expanding its Flock camera system even as neighboring Northland communities move away from the technology over privacy concerns.

The small Platte County city already has two Flock cameras and is now working to add a third at the intersection of 273 and 92 Spur — pending approval from MoDOT. A timeline for installation has not been determined.

Steve Silvestri

Sergeant Beth Taulbee said the department's size makes the license plate reader cameras essential.

"There are only two of us in the city of Tracy right now, police officer-wise, and we cannot handle all of the traffic that goes through here," Taulbee said.

Steve Silvestri

About 20,000 cars pass through Tracy every day, according to Taulbee. With only two officers on the force, she said Flock helps fill in the gaps.

"It is a tool, tool only. We have thefts from our businesses here in town. We have stolen vehicles that are taken here from our car lots. We have crashes that occur in town," Taulbee said.

The push for a third camera stems in part from an incident last year in which a semi turning around near the 273 and 92 Spur intersection came close to hitting a boy waiting for his school bus — a problem I've also been covering in the Northland.

"Had we had a Flock camera in that location at that time, we could have attempted to locate that truck. We did not have any way to locate that vehicle," Taulbee said.

While Tracy expands its system, other Northland cities — including Parkville and Weston — have moved away from Flock cameras. Privacy concerns and questions about who can access the data have become part of a larger debate surrounding the technology.

Steve Silvestri

Taulbee said Tracy shares its data with other law enforcement agencies, including some outside Missouri, but has drawn clear limits on that sharing.

"We do not share with immigration. We do not share anything about with abortion. Those are two things that we have checked off." Taulbee said.

Taulbee also said residents will have a voice in whether the cameras stay.

"If our people show up and they tell our board that they are totally against it… and our board says okay, the people don't want it, then we have to go along with that," Taulbee said.
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