Washington Terrace presses 'pause' on Flock cameras

WASHINGTON TERRACE, Weber County — Washington Terrace City has paused its trial of license plate readers, known as Flock cameras, amid controversy.

Gov. Spencer Cox recently expressed his concern about the cameras in Weber County during his monthly news conference.

"When the governor came out and said he'd like to do a privacy audit or something on Flock, then that just told me that it was probably time to put the brakes on it," said Washington Terrace Mayor Mark Allen.

The city was in the midst of a three-month trial period for the cameras. Now that trial has been terminated, and the cameras are no longer in use. Allen said that they did not run into any problems canceling the trial.

"I think I've got the support of the whole council to put a pause on that and we'll just see what happens," said Allen

The decision appeared to have broad support from the community. Dozens of residents took to Washington Terrace social media pages to applaud the decision.

This decision isn't a permanent pause on the cameras. The mayor plans to have ongoing discussions about the cameras and the possibility of reinstating them in the future. The issue is on the agenda for the Sept. 1 city council meeting.

"You've got to have a balance between freedom and safety," said Allen.

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