Butler Privacy Project

Remove Flock Cameras from Liberty Township

We're asking the Liberty Township Trustees to remove the township-funded license plate reader cameras. Pausing them and releasing the records are steps toward that goal, not a stopping point.

The short version

Liberty residents are paying for these cameras through the township's police-service funding. Local reporting stated that the township was adding 10 Flock rear license plate readers at an annual cost of about $30,000, added to what it pays the Butler County Sheriff's Office. The current cost, contract terms, renewal status, and camera count remain pending records responses.

That makes it a township decision. The Sheriff's Office may run the cameras day to day, but the Trustees control whether Liberty keeps writing the check. So the Trustees are who we're asking.

This isn't about being against the police. It's about consent, privacy, and keeping an eye on how public money buys surveillance.

What we're asking for

We're asking the Board of Trustees to put a resolution on the agenda that would:

End the Flock program and take down the township-funded cameras. This is the goal.
Release the contracts, invoices, policies, sharing settings, and audit records.
Until removal happens, these interim safeguards should be in place — not as an endpoint, but so the cameras do the least harm possible while the program is still running:
Pause use of the township-funded cameras.
Turn off all outside data sharing.
Require a separate public vote before adding any new sensors.

Why now

Other Ohio communities have already run into problems with how this data gets shared, who's watching it, and whether it's worth renewing. Liberty doesn't need to wait for its own version of that before setting limits.

And the system rarely stays put. Flock's product line already includes vehicle-fingerprint search, video analytics, audio detection, and drone tie-ins. The question isn't only what the cameras do today. It's what the township is signing up to expand later.

What we still don't know

These are the questions residents should be able to answer before the township keeps funding the system. Our records requests ask them directly.

What are the full contract terms, renewal date, and cancellation clause?

Which agency owns, operates, and administers the cameras?

What camera models are in use, and where are they placed?

Is outside sharing turned on, and which agencies can search Liberty-funded data?

Have federal agencies ever requested or accessed this data?

Have any searches involved immigration enforcement?

How long is the data kept, and can that be extended?

Are searches limited to specific crimes, or can anyone type in a reason?

Are the audit logs reviewed independently, and are the results public?

How many searches and alerts have there been, and what came of them?

How is a camera hit confirmed before an officer acts on it?

Have there been false stops, misreads, complaints, or discipline?

Has anyone discussed adding video, audio, drones, or other tools to the system?

Were less invasive options ever considered?

A script you can use at a meeting

I'm a Liberty Township resident, and I'm asking the Board of Trustees to end the township-funded Flock license plate reader program and remove the cameras.

I'm not against the police. I support real investigations. I don't support keeping a searchable record of where ordinary residents drive when none of us are suspected of anything, and I don't think turning off a few settings fixes that. The system itself is the risk.

We're paying for a system that logs people who've done nothing wrong, stores it with a private company, and may hand it to outside agencies. Other Ohio towns have already canceled contracts like this one, so removal here is realistic, not just wishful.

Please release the contract and policies so residents can see the records, and in the meantime, pause the cameras and shut off outside sharing as interim protection. But please treat removal as the goal, not disclosure alone.

Your trustees

These are the officials who decide whether Liberty keeps funding the cameras. Contact information is published by the township. We don't list anyone's position until they've stated it on the record.

Todd Minniear

Liberty Township Trustee (President)

Official email: [email protected]
Official phone: 513-759-7512
Position on ALPR removal: Unknown
Last contacted: Not yet recorded

Official page

Official public contact information published by Liberty Township.

Steve Schramm

Liberty Township Trustee (Vice President)

Official email: [email protected]
Official phone: 513-759-7513
Position on ALPR removal: Unknown
Last contacted: Not yet recorded

Official page

Official public contact information published by Liberty Township.

Tom Farrell

Liberty Township Trustee

Official email: [email protected]
Official phone: 513-759-7514
Position on ALPR removal: Unknown
Last contacted: Not yet recorded

Official page

Official public contact information published by Liberty Township.

Ask Liberty Township to pause, disclose, and remove.

Add your name and help make this a public decision instead of a quiet renewal.

Sign Petition