COMMERCIAL POINT, OH — A high-tech surveillance tool is quietly making its way into communities across Central Ohio, including Commercial Point, where police have deployed a new Flock license plate reader camera. During Monday night’s council meeting, Police Chief Jordan addressed public questions after one of the cameras was spotted in town.
Chief Jordan clarified that the camera is not used to monitor speeding or issue tickets, but rather serves as an investigative tool to help locate vehicles connected to criminal investigations, missing persons, or high-speed chases. The technology, he emphasized, is not being used to pursue routine traffic violations like expired tags or registration issues.
“These cameras are a tool to help us solve serious crimes, not to issue traffic tickets,” Chief Adam told council members. “They’re particularly helpful in tracking down suspects or missing persons when time is critical.”
Technology That Tracks Criminals in Real Time
The Flock system is part of a growing network of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) being installed across Pickaway and Ross counties, and is already in wide use in larger cities like Columbus. The high-speed cameras scan thousands of plates per minute, capturing not just the plate number, but also the time, date, and location of each vehicle.
One recent example of the technology’s impact came just two weeks ago when a suspected OVI (Operating a Vehicle Impaired) driver led police on a high-speed chase beginning in Circleville. The suspect fled down US-23, reaching speeds over 100 mph and entering oncoming lanes through a construction zone. When the chase became too dangerous to continue, police ended the pursuit and entered the suspect’s license plate into the Flock system.
Shortly afterward, a Flock camera in Ross County detected the vehicle, and Chillicothe officers were alerted in real time. The suspect was soon boxed in and arrested on High Street in Chillicothe.
Privacy Concerns and Oversight
While police departments tout the cameras as valuable tools for public safety, privacy advocates have raised concerns over how the data is used, stored, and shared. The Flock system collects detailed information that can track the movement of any vehicle, creating massive databases of driving activity — even for those not involved in any crime.
Many of these systems share data across agencies and retain it for extended periods, sometimes years, with few transparency requirements or oversight mechanisms. The technology also has the ability to photograph vehicles, identify car make and model, and even match suspect vehicles from partial plate data.
Despite these concerns, communities across Ohio are embracing the tool for its potential to assist in emergencies and improve inter-agency collaboration during investigations.
As Commercial Point integrates this surveillance technology into its public safety efforts, residents are encouraged to stay informed and ask questions about how the system is used and what measures are in place to protect individual privacy.
