OMAHA- The Omaha City Council debated whether or not to approve a request from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office to build license-plate reading technology throughout the city. The proposal will allow the city to build this license-detecting technology on light poles around the city, but would not allow the Omaha Police to access the data collected by the devices.

A representative from ACLU Nebraska stated that the new system, formally titled the 'Flock Safety System', would collect massive amounts of plate numbers and GPS locations. ACLU Nebraska was against the proposal, claiming that it would collect data even from innocent people and store it in a cloud.

Councilwoman Aimee Melton agreed with the ACLU's sentiment, stating that she fears the new system will chip away at Omaha citizens' personal freedoms.

The Sheriff's Office believes the new technology to be an effective crime-fighting tool, claiming that it has already uncovered "an auto theft ring." The Office had placed 15 cameras around Douglas County as a test, and is planning on placing ten more if the ordinance is passed.

Police Capt. Will Niemack told the council that the system only takes and saves pictures of reported and stolen vehicles, sending an immediate alert to law enforcement. Proponents of the new system argued that the cameras are only pointed at the roadway, and will not be used for sidewalk surveillance.

The ACLU argued against this, claiming that the cameras will not be able to make a distinction between innocent vehicles and the stolen vehicles it is designed to look for. They, along with other opponents of the ordinance, argued that more trial runs should be conducted before the Council makes a decision.

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