Thank you Mrs Hawkins.

We're satisfying with this one. Can close it out.


Council:

Crime in Cedar Rapids continues to fall. The Gazette attributes this to police efforts in schools and communities—not Flock mass surveillance cameras. Yet CRPD is preparing to spend fifty thousand dollars in federal SHSP funds on a Flock surveillance trailer, shortly after quietly installing live-streaming Condor cameras across downtown skywalks. As awareness grows, the public is not learning about these technologies from city officials or law enforcement. They are hearing about them through other channels. That shift in communication speaks for itself. If a broader vision or rationale exists, it has not been shared.

Nationally, Flock cameras are already used far beyond local crime prevention. Flock contracts enable nationwide data sharing, long-term tracking, and have documented potential for protest monitoring. Cedar Rapids’ largest demonstrations take place directly in front of a Flock Falcon camera on 8th Street. If participants knew understood the camera’s capabilities, many might have chosen not to attend. That's the real power of these cameras. At a time when free speech is actively under threat nationwide, it’s important that our leaders understand this clearly.

To date, no third-party evidence has shown these cameras measurably improve public safety. One or two anecdotal "success stories" do not justify the erosion of privacy for an entire city. That same funding could provide bleeding control kits, Narcan, AEDs, ballistic shields, or trauma training...tools proven to immediately and measurably save lives.

Again, we ask you to press pause on this company. Take twenty minutes to read about how this system is being used elsewhere. This is not just another tool. Once installed, it becomes nearly impossible to control. The decisions made now will define the privacy people in Cedar Rapids can expect in the future. This moment deserves more time, more scrutiny, and more honesty than it has been given.

EyesOffCR.org