It's great to see the community join together and try to work collaboratively to find a way forward with — or maybe without — Flock cameras in this municipality. While Newtown Police Department has been using in-vehicle license plate readers from Flock for 18 years, it has been within the last two years that the town has added stationary cameras that photograph vehicles and their license plates as they pass by.

The recent controversy over the cameras, as safety concerns and crime prevention by police are weighed against privacy concerns among residents of the community, is one of many times civil rights has butted heads with public safety.

But that's why Newtown Police Chief David Kullgren's approach to turn this into a community dialogue and work with Newtown residents to find the best way forward is what's right for this town.

Everyone has concerns about Flock. The right to privacy was important enough to make it into the fourth amendment, the top five of our most important rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. And these rights were decided on by brave men and women who had just overthrown an unjust government to create a government by the people and for the people. Obviously, defending against government intrusion was foremost in their minds even 250 years ago.

While Flock does not track an individual's movements per se, it can be used to "track" in that a record is created each time a vehicle goes past a reader, creating a trackable record of movements that remains for 21 days. This has been shown in a number of cases of misuse.

Additionally, while putting up a network of cameras can provide safety and help solve crimes, as one audience member during a recent Legislative Council meeting said, it can be an "authoritarian's dream." What happens if a hypothetical future government tears down the laws protecting our fourth amendment rights from Flock and allows unfettered surveillance? The infrastructure is there, ready to be misused, if a government so decides.

As many brought up at the August 19 Legislative Council meeting, much of the issue comes down to trust. Newtown trusts its police department, and the police department trusts Flock, but many Newtown residents do not trust Flock. Finding ways to compromise, or going with a company with a less intrusive model, might go a long way to establishing the three-way trust that will be necessary for all parties to be happy with an agreement.

We look forward to seeing what the Legislative Council Ordinance Subcommittee does at upcoming meetings concerning surveillance. We also look forward to the discussions and eventual solution from town officials regarding the Town's contract with Flock. Hopefully, a solution can be found that will work for all local stakeholders.