Suffolk County finalizing $4 million contract with flock safety for gunshot detection technology
The agreement has already drawn criticism from some county lawmakers over both the technology and the process used to approve the deal.
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Suffolk County is finalizing a nearly $4 million contract with Flock Safety, a company best known for its automated license plate reader technology, but county officials say the new agreement will not include any cameras or license plate readers.
Instead, officials say Flock's technology will replace the county's current ShotSpotter system, which detects gunfire and alerts law enforcement to possible shootings. The five-year contract was negotiated by the General Counsel for the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office and is expected to take effect when the county's existing ShotSpotter contract expires in September.
The agreement has already drawn criticism from some county lawmakers over both the technology and the process used to approve the deal.
"There are obvious civil liberties concerns here," one opponent of the contract said.
Suffolk County Legislator Greg Doroski (D-Jamesport) said legislators were not informed about the contract before it was approved. According to Doroski, the agreement was authorized through the county's RFP Waiver Committee, eliminating the need for a competitive public bidding process.
"We're not having a robust public discussion about the usefulness of this technology, the public concerns about this technology," Doroski said.
Flock Safety has become a controversial company nationwide because of its network of automated license plate readers, which have raised privacy concerns among civil liberties advocates. However, county officials maintain that the current contract is solely for gunshot detection technology and does not involve cameras or license plate readers.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine declined to say whether he supports deploying Flock's technology in the county.
When asked about the proposal, Romaine responded, "I'd have to take a look."
Instead, the county executive pointed to Doroski's previous role on the Southold Town Board, noting that the town accepted several Flock cameras during Doroski's tenure.
"I would speak to Legislator Doroski because when he was on the board they accepted eight cameras from the sheriff and then applied for three more," Romaine said.
The comments come after three Flock cameras in Southold were recently vandalized.
County officials expect the new Flock gunshot detection system to be operational by September, when the current ShotSpotter contract expires.
Flock Safety did not respond to a request for comment.
