VALLEY MILLS, Texas (KXXV) — The city of Valley Mills has Flock cameras, and some neighbors aren't fans of them. Even though the city didn't install them.
- “Are you able to see somebody’s bank account information? Like the amount that’s in it?" said Laramie Boston
- Three Flock cameras are posted in and around Valley Mills.
“I find that they’re an invasion of privacy," said local Valley Mills resident Laramie Boston.
Laramie Boston has lived in Valley Mills his whole life and has done his research on Flock Safety cameras. He said he isn’t a fan of the cameras, even though they’re in the very city he grew up in.
“Are you able to see somebody’s bank account information? Like the amount that’s in it? That was something that I was hearing recently that law enforcement would know how much was in your bank account," said Boston.
But the city of Valley Mills didn’t have a hand in installing them. They were put in by McLennan County and Bosque County.
The Valley Mills Police Chief Matthew Hamilton said that while the counties didn’t inform him about the Flock cameras, he did notice them around town. Chief Hamilton also said the city has no control over the cameras.
He took to social media to address the cameras by saying, in part:
"The Valley Mills Council and I have had previous discussions about the pros and cons of the Flock Safety Camera Systems. Still, we have not moved toward implementing this as a future goal, given the ongoing controversy locally and nationally."
But some neighbors don’t mind the cameras; one responded to Chief Hamilton's posts, saying:
"Be honest, and there shouldn't be any problems on your end."
Boston said it still feels too invasive.
“How comfortable should we be with our information in a place where anybody with malicious intent could use it?" said Boston.
