The MAGAs who run Augusta County, through the Board of Supervisors, are about to break with Donald Trump, who got 70-plus percent of the vote in the county in each of his three runs for president, over Flock cameras.
Trump reiterated, when pressed by a reporter on Air Force One on Sunday, that he likes the automated license plate readers, “because of law enforcement.”
The sentiment from members of the Augusta County Board of Supervisors who brought up the Sheriff’s Office contract with Flock for a mere two cameras in the Fishersville area at a recent BOS meeting is more on the side of privacy protections for the citizenry.
From the archives
- Coverage of issues raised with Flock cameras: click here.
Scott Seaton, who represents the Wayne District, where those two cameras are located, said last week that he wants the Board to review the contract, noting the low hit rate – he said the two cameras had recorded, in the 30 days prior to last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, eight hits for cars that may have ties to some sort of crime from more than 65,000 surveillance opportunities, “and that gives it a ratio of pretty much 999,999 innocent people for each person, for each car, that’s on the hit list,” Seaton said.
It’s not quite 999,999 to one, but his point is made.
Steve Grepps, who represents the Beverley Manor District, piled on, saying he has spoken to “quite a few people, either via phone or out in public, and they’re not in support of the Flock cameras, and neither am I, and I just wanted to make that point clear.”
We can expect the BOS to discuss this at their next staff briefing, which is on the schedule for Monday, Sept. 21.
How much Trump’s support of Flock cameras “because of law enforcement” will factor into the review will be worth taking a look at.
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Chris Graham
