Politicians are notoriously quick to make promises, but slow to act—if they ever act at all. This was the case in Jefferson County, West Virginia. County commissioners told residents they supported a ban on Flock surveillance cameras, but they continually pushed the vote. After Liberty Action stepped in and used grassroots activism to apply pressure, commissioners finally passed a policy prohibiting mass surveillance systems, including Flock cameras, on county property.
Flock cameras scan license plates and record when and where a car passes—even if the driver hasn’t done anything wrong.
Liberty Action spent seven weeks organizing residents to sign petitions and contact commissioners after West Virginia Delegate Chris Anders alerted the group to the fight. Though the county didn’t have Flock cameras active, residents wanted a preventative measure in place. Anders, a Hazlitt Coalition member, and the commission president presented an example ordinance from South Carolina to use as a base for the county policy draft.
Liberty Action Field Manager Derin Stidd said the commission “made it seem like they were going to easily pass this Flock ban,” but continually delayed a vote.
In a Sept. 3 meeting, the commission president presented a draft procurement policy and resolution, and commissioners unanimously referred them to legal counsel. Anders helped address commissioners’ questions about their authority to restrict the technology, and Liberty Action continued to apply pressure.
“The grassroots pressure was so important because we wanted to make it clear to them that the grassroots in Jefferson County are not going to let them off the hook for this one,” Stidd said. “They’re going to hold you accountable, and they're watching what you're doing, and they want these Flock cameras banned.”
The Liberty Action campaign garnered 271 petition signatures. Liberty Action ran digital ads, sent thousands of communications, led volunteer community outreach, and set up a call campaign letting residents press 1 to reach the commission’s office.
“Every time they told us they were going to discuss the issue or they were going to vote on it and they didn't, we ran text message campaigns, we ran robocall campaigns, we ran Facebook ads,” Stidd said.
On Oct. 15, commissioners unanimously passed the Jefferson County Protection from Mass Surveillance Policy. It prohibits covered mass surveillance systems, including Flock cameras, on county property and bars county officials from approving agreements to install them. Ordinary security cameras and real-time traffic monitoring are exempt.
“We count it as a huge win,” Stidd said. “We believe that the people in Jefferson County are freer now than they were yesterday.”
Stidd believes the Jefferson County ban wouldn’t have happened without the pressure applied by its citizens.
“This is a true example of the success of the grassroots confrontation model of politics,” Stidd said. “We won this fight because we mobilized grassroots to confront the politicians. If that pressure had not been there, they'd have made some great strong statements against Flock, but Flock cameras would still be legal in Jefferson County, West Virginia.”
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