The Twin Falls Police Department posted to its social media accounts Thursday to explain how automatic license plate readers are used in Twin Falls, amid increased online dialogue about Flock cameras in Idaho communities.The pos t came just days after a dozen people spoke out against the cameras at a public meeting in Caldwell.The department's post cited examples of fugitives apprehended and explained how vehicle make, model and license information is stored. It also stated that individuals' or passengers' audio and video are not tracked using the system.The online discussion was robust, logging over 100 comments within an hour and over 500 comments by the end of the day.Kevin Wakeley was one of hundreds of people who commented on the post."In that post there was plenty of things that they pointed out that are perfect examples of why a Flock camera would be amazing to have," Wakeley said.Watch to hear what neighbors think of the city's explanation Twin Falls police defend Flock cameras amid Idaho debateBut Wakeley also raised concerns about potential misuse."Because yes, you can stop criminals, great," Wakeley said. "The problem is, as we've had plenty of other examples that have shown where they've been used for various reasons in our own valley even. It's not just other states we've had it happen close to home."Wakeley was referring to the former Jerome County Sheriff, who used the Flock camera network to search for his wife's vehicle hundreds of times.Conversations about the technology have been happening around the state. In Caldwell, a dozen community members spoke out against the cameras at the July 6th City Council Meeting."We shouldn't have to give so many reasons why these cameras are a bad idea. The ability to not be constantly surveyed by the government is clearly a right given by the Fourth Amendment and backed up by several Supreme Court cases," one community member said.RELATED | Tort claim accuses Caldwell's Flock Safety camera program of violating Idaho privacy lawCaptain Brent Wright of the Twin Falls Police Department said in a phone call the department had seen an uptick in misinformation about how the data is used and wanted to provide more transparency on what the cameras do and don't do."We see a great value to some of the success stories," Wright said. "If that was your family member, I think you would see the huge value in this system."The Twin Falls Police Department also has an information page on its website with details about the cameras, their policy, state law, and how the data is handled.This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less