By Greg Tharnish
Special to The Elgin Review
Zach Miller, Antelope County resident and ex-Marine, came before the Antelope County Commissioners (ACC) with concerns about the Sheriff’s department’s use of “Flock Cameras” throughout the county.
Flock Cameras, AI generated cameras used to read the rear license plate on a vehicle, are used in the following areas: Tilden, Plainview, Clearwater and Orchard. Miller and a half dozen supporters requested that the cameras be removed because of privacy issues. One backer stated that “We live in a police-state here in Nebraska.”
Upholding the Constitution, the Taliban, Russia and China were all referenced by the group during the civil discussion.
Sheriff Bob Moore was questioned about the cameras and stated that they’ve been a valuable law enforcement tool, citing a number of resolved cases in just the last few weeks, including identification of a sex offender and a number of protection order violations. Moore went on to say that the biggest privacy problem lies with an individual’s cell phone.
The ACC had more questions than answers and will be in touch with County Attorney Joe Smith and do their own research surrounding the Flock/Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras.
There are at least 36 counties in Nebraska that use Flock cameras with between 400-500 cameras in use.
The ACC will meet with Miller and supporters during the October 13th meeting for further discussion.
The Budget Hearing took place at 10 a.m. with no public comment. The budget was approved with the Property Tax Request and levy down slightly from last year.
Weather permitting, work on 839 road, approximately five miles east of Elgin, will begin. After soil borings were taken, it appears that the area needing work is not as bad off as was anticipated. Work is expected to take less than a week.
