LEXINGTON, Ky. — Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton announced Friday morning that she is creating an “independent, external panel” to review Lexington’s Flock license plate reader cameras.

“We have already discussed ways to tighten our controls to address concerns expressed by the public,” Gorton said. “However, I think it’s important to take our due diligence to the next level by appointing an independent, unbiased panel, bringing in outside expertise in technology, civil rights, and the law.”

Gorton said the panel should be established by the end of September. It’s not yet clear if they will hold public meetings as part of their review.

“More information will be released at a later date,” city spokesperson Susan Straub told the Herald-Leader.

Lexington has 125 license plate reader cameras, leased from the company Flock, throughout the city. They have been controversial since their arrival, with many residents citing fears of privacy invasions and over-policing of minority communities whenever the cameras were first introduced.

Those concerns have not disappeared. The city’s Friday announcement comes after an Aug. 27 council meeting where dozens of Lexington residents asked the city to end its contract with Flock. The council was not considering any decisions around Flock at the meeting.

But the Bluegrass Democratic Socialists of America, a recently reorganized chapter of the national organization, has taken up a push to get rid of Flock cameras locally as one of their main policy goals. The Bluegrass DSA rallied speakers to urge the council to end the contract with Flock and delete all data from the cameras, excluding that being used in an active investigation.

Public pushback against automated license plate readers is not just in Central Kentucky.

Six northern Kentucky cities have announced they are severing ties with Flock, largely due to privacy concerns raised by citizens.

Most recently, Erlanger Mayor John Link announced Sept. 1 the Kenton County city would immediately pause the program to gather more public input.

Kentucky state legislators also have raised questions about Flock safety cameras. During a Sept. 3 Interim Judiciary Committee meeting, several legislators said they would support a new law requiring police to get a warrant before accessing Flock data.

Lexington’s move comes after several high-profile cases of police misusing the camera data.

In late August, Shively police officer Asad Zahir, 40, was charged with five counts of official misconduct and five counts of unlawful access to a computer after police discovered he had accessed the license plate reader system more than 2,000 times to track a woman.

A Louisville police officer is also under investigation after he improperly accessed the department’s Flock cameras to allegedly track a city employee, according to Louisville Public Media. That officer had previously been suspended for two days for similar misuse of the Flock system.

Still, police say the automated license plate readers have helped find missing persons and stolen cars, and led to hundreds of arrests.

Lexington police conduct quarterly audits of Flock camera use to ensure proper system usage. That check includes ensuring a reason for a search is listed. Now, the police’s system also requires a case number for a search.

In addition, LPD’s public integrity unit conducts a separate audit of Flock camera data use.

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