(Radio Iowa) – There are no reports in Iowa of any deliberate vandalism of traffic cameras that are used to read license plates, but some Iowans oppose the use of so-called Flock cameras to gather data, fearing it could be misused. Coralville has removed the cameras and a petition drive in Iowa City aims to have them taken down. In Spencer, city manager Kevin Robinson responded to questions on social media about the cameras.
Robinson says the city does have a few cameras on street lights in the downtown area that are used for reading traffic flow. He says it’s difficult for the city to fight false reports of the cameras online, as there are websites where anyone can claim they’ve seen them.
A report from the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa finds the use of automatic license plate readers is expanding in Iowa. It found Cedar Rapids had the most cameras in the state at 76, while West Des Moines had 64 cameras, and Clinton County had 58.
