Differing views about Flock cameras in Madison, on UW-Madison’s campus and at the state Capitol have come to a head atop five of the city’s traffic signal poles.
Madison officials discovered in recent months that five license plate surveillance Flock Safety cameras — one on UW-Madison’s campus and four on Capitol Square — are mounted on city-owned property and may be in violation of city rules.
Fueled by artificial intelligence, Flock cameras capture images of car license plates passing by, as well as a vehicle’s visual markers, such as its color, make and model, bumper stickers and crash damage. Unlike traditional surveillance cameras, the data is sent to Flock’s network, which, in most cases, other law enforcement agencies can access.
The UW-Madison Police Department started using automated license plate reader cameras provided by the company Flock Safety about eight months ago. There was no public discussion or announcement about the cameras at the time, said Marc Lovicott, a department spokesperson.
Campus police have declined to disclose where its eight cameras are currently located on campus, but Lovicott said the cameras are visible to the public.