The Richmond City Council has approved the resumption of the city’s license plate readers. On Tuesday night, council members agreed to extend the city’s contract with Flock Safety, which provides the cameras. The cameras have come under scrutiny after Richmond’s police chief discovered t hat data was made available to outside federal agencies. The revelation caused the cameras to be disabled in December. However, the department said there’s no evidence of any of the data actually being used by these agencies. Additionally, Richmond Police Chief Timothy Simmons said that the city would have the ability to fine Flock if it happened again under any new contract. “The counsel through the city attorney’s office would be able to fine Flock…290 thousand dollars per incident,” Simmons said on Tuesday night. Despite this, some residents are concerned about the potential for information to be shared with federal officials, especially given the current environment of federal immigration enforcement. “There’s no excuse; now that we know what Flock is about, there’s no excuse to use them at all.” Elsa Stevens, a resident of Richmond, said. Other residents said the cameras are helping to reduce crime around the city. “Technology is what’s helping a lot of the crimes be solved. If not, stop them immediately, because criminals don’t like cameras, right?” Barbara Ropati, another resident of Richmond, said. According to Richmond Police, Flock cameras have helped police make 274 arrests and recover more than 250 vehicles over a three-year period. This new contract with Flock would run until the end of the year. ...read more read less