Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger signed an executive order last Thursday banning all county departments under her authority from deploying Flock Safety cameras or other similar AI-assisted surveillance technologies. The directive comes as neighboring counties including Dutchess County announced it would remove its Flock cameras.

Flock cameras are automated license plate readers (ALPR) often used by law enforcement agencies to monitor criminal activity. Residents and officials across the country are increasingly concerned about how and with whom the data is shared, notably how data could be accessed for federal immigration enforcement operations.

Metzger says local governments must be cautious on how to use AI-assisted technology as it develops.

“There are just huge questions about how is the data being used and by whom? How is it being protected? These are all questions that I think have not been adequately answered, and layered on top of this, I feel, are some serious questions about the lack of regulatory guardrails around the development of AI technologies in the private sector,” said Metzger.

Metzger says her order is the first-of-its-kind executive order in New York state banning Flock cameras and AI surveillance tools. 

“In the public, there is strong support for this, for making sure in our efforts [we] protect public safety [and] we are paying attention to not giving up the rights to privacy and our civil liberties, which we hold so dear in this country,” said Metzger. 

The county executive order does not apply to county law enforcement, which is under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff. Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa said that he supported Metzger’s executive order in a press statement.

The Daily Freeman reported on Oct. 22 that after the executive order was issued Figueroa said he would not move forward with AI-assisted report writing and won’t add additional Motorola ALPRs. His office currently uses Motorola ALPR cameras. 

Figueroa later issued a statement on Oct. 26 he’s against the use of Flock cameras but is committed to the use of other license plate reader technology.

Radio Catskill reached out to the Sheriff’s office to confirm whether Figueroa was still considering adding more ALPR cameras and how they would be used. His office did not respond ahead of publication.

The executive order took effect immediately on Thursday.