This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Officials in the sanctuary city of Denver have decided to close down a successful anti-theft program in order to protect illegal aliens, including criminals.
Constitutional expert Jonathan Turley explained the program was "a highly successful anti-theft auto license plate tracking system."
But the fight against crime was not derailed because of privacy concerns, or finances.
"It was shut down because Democratic members believed that ICE could use the data to deport illegals," he explained. "In May, the council refused to renew the $666,000 contract with Flock for camera monitors around 70 Denver intersections to screen for car theft. That system resulted in the recovery of 170 stolen cars and 300 arrests. It is also credited with key evidence in the investigation of hit-and-run and murder cases."
But, he noted, "It could also be used to assist ICE, and that is all that matters."
He cited the confirmation from Councilman Kevin Flynn: "We know that it can help solve crime. But I think since maybe Jan. 20 of this year, those concerns are greatly heightened and have a new reality about them."
And Sarah Parady, another sanctuary city council member, said, "We're living in an era where just this last week, actually, an executive order came out instructing the Department of Justice and the FBI to look for reasons to prosecute local elected officials and activists who they believe are, quote, unquote, obstructing ICE enforcement. This kind of surveillance technology is a gift if you have that kind of ill intent, and the federal government has that ill intent right now."
Mayor Mike Johnston said the program had to go because of "community concerns."
Turley noted, "The police are obviously not happy but car thieves are thrilled. If this seems utterly insane, keep in mind that this was a unanimous vote of the city council."
A Fox affiliate said Flock previously was contracted to provide more than 100 license plate readers throughout Denver.
The original contract cost the city $339,450, but "the cost wasn't the main reason why council members voted no," the report said.
Instead, the issue became just who has access to the data because of Denver's sanctuary city status.
"Members worried that federal agencies would gain access to data and information that would be detrimental to immigrant communities," the report said.
The report explained, "One of Denver's southern neighbors, Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly, spoke out against the vote. Weekly posted to X on May 6, referencing a FOX31 story on the contract extension failure, saying, 'This morning we caught a robbery suspect from another jurisdiction using @Flock_Safety. This tech helps catch murderers, rapists, kidnappers, robbers, & ID sex offenders near schools. Meanwhile, @CityofDenver policies empower criminals and make our entire metro area less safe.'"
The station said, "FOX31 asked Flock to weigh in on the privacy concerns. The company noted first that its technology has been used to solve 'hundreds of cases' by the Denver Police Department, including a multi-million dollar jewelry heist at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center."
"The Sheriff is correct in all of these assertions. All searches conducted in the Flock LPR (license plate reader) system are saved in a permanent audit trail, which records the user, the parameters of the search, and the reason for the search (typically a case number)," Flock said. "All data collected by the LPR system — both vehicle images and metadata — are owned by the customer, in this case DPD, stored in the cloud encrypted, and purged automatically after 30 days. Denver has instituted an LPR policy that guides acceptable use and data sharing, along with additional best practices like regular audits and user training."
