Norman City Council appointed the members of the Ward 5 candidate selection committee and discussed Norman Police Department’s use of cameras that would capture the license plate of all passing vehicles in a special meeting Tuesday.
Selection committee appointees
The news: Council approved the appointment of five residents to the Ward 5 candidate selection committee.
The committee will interview applicants for the Ward 5 seat following former Ward 5 Councilmember Michael Nash’s resignation. The five committee members are:
• Randy Carter, a self-employed photographer and volunteer for Pike Off OTA and Oklahomans for Responsible Transportation
• Heidi Smith, director of operations for the Thunderbird Clubhouse and part of the Social and Voluntary Services Commission and the Community Development Block Grant program
• John Griego, an insurance broker and owner of Griego Insurance group, LLC
• Aysha Prather, serves on Norman’s bicycle advisory committee
• Shavonne Evans, a real estate agent for Keller Williams Mulinix Realty in Norman
What they’re saying: During the meeting, Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman said he hopes to have the Ward 5 seat filled by council’s Sept. 9 meeting. City Clerk Brenda Hall said over 10 people have already applied for the seat.
The vote: The appointments were unanimously approved.
NPD cameras
The news: Council heard a presentation about Flock Safety cameras from Flock Director of Public Affairs Trevor Chandler.
Flock cameras scan the license plates, as well as make, model, color and description of every vehicle that drives past them.
What they’re saying: Holman told OU Daily Monday that NPD has been interested in implementing this technology in Norman for a couple years to mirror procedures made by other departments in the OKC-metro.
According to Chandler, one camera would cost $3,500 per year, which also includes the cost for maintenance and upgrades. NPD Deputy Chief Ricky Jackson said his hope would be to install around 15 cameras within the city.
Chandler said Flock cameras are currently used by over 50 law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma, including the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office.
Several Norman businesses and neighborhoods own Flock cameras, NPD Crime Analyst Jason Redden said. NPD crime analysts said the number of private cameras across the city is under a dozen.
Chandler said Flock camera owners can share data with law enforcement, but cannot access data that law enforcement collects. Jackson said a Norman business helped solve a case that occurred in its parking lot by sharing its Flock camera data with law enforcement.
Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant raised questions about possible data breaches. Chandler said Flock has never experienced a data breach and, if one occurred, the company would be contractually obligated to notify the agencies involved.
Holman told OU Daily after the meeting that because of the ability of municipalities to share Flock data, he would be curious to know if Cleveland County had any cameras in Norman.
“If Cleveland County already has cameras, and if there’s an agreement where Norman PD is able to access that, could we save that money and spend it otherwise on public safety?” Holman said.
This story was edited by Ana Barboza.
