Chautauqua County DA to Address Fredonia ALPR Concerns

Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt is scheduled to address the Fredonia Village Board on Monday regarding the installation of license plate readers (ALPRs) in the area. This follows public criticism voiced at a recent Chautauqua County Legislature meeting, as The Observer Today reported.

Drivers in Fredonia and Pomfret should know that nine ALPRs funded by a state grant through the DA's office are now operational. Seven are on private property in the Fredonia/Pomfret area, and one is on public property in Dunkirk with city consent. An additional digital camera, also funded by the DA's office, is on village property in Fredonia.

What are the concerns about these ALPRs?

Residents and local officials have raised privacy concerns about the ALPRs. Pomfret Councilman Mike Lee stated at the legislative meeting that the cameras operate without oversight or accountability.

He referred to them as "a dragnet mass surveillance tool that Flock and law enforcement can use to constantly track people in our community without a warrant, without suspicion of criminal activity and without any accountability." Fredonia Trustee Christine Cruz-Keefe echoed these concerns, emphasizing residents' deep worries about mass surveillance.

For more details on how these systems work and what data they collect, you can visit our /learn section.

How are these ALPRs being used?

District Attorney Schmidt confirmed his department installed the ALPRs. He noted that the cameras have assisted in solving crimes, including the capture of an alleged kidnapper at Chautauqua Institution.

In addition to the ALPRs, Dunkirk also has eight other cameras installed by DFT, which are monitored by city police. The DA's office helped fund these as the city ran out of installation money.

Schmidt will attend the Fredonia Village Board meeting on Monday to directly address community concerns about the ALPRs.