JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A group of Missouri activists gathered in Jefferson City Sunday to protest the use of Flock cameras, calling for the surveillance technology to be removed. Show Me Resistance organizers said they hope Sunday’s protest is a step toward getting Flock cameras remove d from the city. The group gathered at 11 a.m. at the Community Park before marching through Greenway. Protesters also made stops along Lafayette Street, where several Flock cameras are installed. Organizers said they are concerned about how Flock cameras collect, store and share automated license plate reader data. Show Me Resistance co-organizer Kaytlin Tingle said the technology has been misused. “They been caught stalking women and harming people or minorities. So we just feel like they're obviously more sinister than they're trying to lead us to believe,” Tingle said. Local news reports have documented allegations involving the misuse of Flock systems in Joplin, St. Charles County and Brentwood. Organizers also raised concerns about where Flock cameras are located in Jefferson City. They said some cameras are placed in areas with large populations of people experiencing homelessness and in predominantly Black neighborhoods. “I think it's normal for our government, but it unacceptable,” Show Me Resistance co-organizer Summer Williams said. “I think it's racist.” The group also questioned who could eventually access or purchase surveillance data, raising concerns about privacy. Organizers said Missouri had been among states without statewide regulations governing the use of these surveillance systems. Last month, Gov. Mike Kehoe has also put temporary restrictions in place to limit how data is used until Missouri lawmakers can meet in the next legislative session to create laws. The restrictions require Flock data to be deleted within 30 days, prohibit the sale of the data, limit its use to legitimate law enforcement purposes and prohibit the use of facial recognition technology. The Jefferson City Police Department said Flock cameras have helped solve three homicides. While Show Me Resistance opposes the cameras, organizers said they understand the technology can be useful to law enforcement. However, they believe crimes can be solved using other tools. “I think we can also use traffic cams to do that. We have historically been able to catch people like that using just traffic cameras, and those require warrants for all the data that's collected,” Show Me Resistance co-organizer Hadley McNeill said. Jefferson City renewed its contract with Flock in August. The contract runs through May 2027. Pulaski County Sheriff's Office has stopped using Flock cameras, and Columbia city leaders are considering whether to renew their contract with the company in March. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill in Congress to restrict how data from these AI-powered cameras is used. He proposes that data be encrypted and not shared with non-governmental agencies; searches be approved; a search log be kept; data be deleted within 10 days; hardware or software from foreign adversaries not be used; and facial recognition not be used. Check back for updates. The post Show Me Resistance protests Flock cameras in Jefferson City appeared first on ABC17NEWS. ...read more read less