Ferndale's police department is facing public scrutiny over its use of Flock Safety cameras as the city council prepares to vote on whether to continue the program.

The license plate readers, installed at entry points throughout Ferndale, are stirring up debate between effective policing and privacy rights.

"You can't see the occupant, you can't identify race. In most cases, you can't identify a gender. It's just a picture of your vehicle, and more specifically, a picture of the license plate," said Chief Dennis Emmi of the Ferndale Police Department.

The technology works by capturing images of license plates and vehicle backs, then alerting officers when a flagged vehicle is detected. Police provided footage showing how officers receive alerts on their computers with the plate informat

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