It is good that Oak Parkers are conscious of a disparity in local traffic stops by police, which favor white drivers and disfavor Black drivers. There is a legitimate issue to address.
That traffic stops have now been conflated with Oak Park’s use of Flock cameras, which track stolen cars and missing persons, is inaccurate and a disservice to our police department, which needs technology to battle crime.
In a 4-3 vote, the Oak Park Village Board voted June 4 to extend the contract for these surveillance cameras for another two years. Trustees added some additional restrictions on the use of the cameras and did not increase the number of cameras beyond the eight currently in use, despite a request from Police Chief Shatonya Johnson.
Of course, we share the worries so many feel about the proliferation of cameras in our communities, the various methods of tracking movement via our devices. Surveillance is pervasive and setting limits seems beyond us.
That said, specialized cameras that capture license plates, car make and model and the color of a car are not overly invasive — assuming you are driving your own car! It should limit unwarranted traffic stops as those cars stopped will have been actively reported as stolen.
Chief Johnson made a compelling case for the use of this widespread technology. Oak Park needs more tools, not fewer. However, one reason the cameras are needed, she argued, is the plummeting number of sworn officers on the force. As departures just keep piling up, Johnson said one reason is that officers leave for other departments with greater technology.
But we find it difficult to believe that technology is the deciding point when a veteran officer decamps for the department in a far western suburb. There is more at play here than that and those reasons need serious attention. And now.