The South Portland Police Department will now only share data from the city’s Flock Safety cameras with Maine agencies, a decision made in response to concerns raised by residents.

Police Chief Daniel Ahern said in a release Thursday that the department decided it would no longer share vehicle information collected by the South Portland cameras with a national database. The department previously had sharing agreements with about 700 agencies through the Flock network, mostly municipal and sheriff’s offices, according to Detective Jeff Levesque.

“We can still realize some public safety benefits while addressing concerns about sharing our data with agencies across the nation,” Ahern said.

Some residents say this move doesn’t go far enough.

“Rebuilding public trust would start with removing or physically covering all cameras while the city continues its deliberations,” said Alex Redfield, a community member with No Flock for South Portland, a group that organized in opposition to the cameras. A motion to temporarily disable the cameras until the city could answer data-access questions failed at a City Council workshop on May 19.

The city has seven Flock cameras — two near Interstate 295 by Pape Chevrolet, two on Western Avenue by Maine Mall Road, two at Cash Corner and one on Maine Mall Road — which use artificial intelligence and machine learning to scan and log the license plate, model, color and other identifying information, like bumper stickers, of every vehicle that passes through their field of view.

Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based company that contracts with more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies across the country, has come under fire over who has access to the data it collects. A report last year found that the company shared data with federal immigration and border authorities.

There have been no reported instances of misuse of technology in South Portland, according to Shara Dee, the city’s spokesperson.

But many residents have mobilized against this technology, concerned about who has access to the city’s data and whether the police department can be certain about the system’s security. They showed up in force at a workshop last week on the topic, filling council chambers and the meeting’s public comment period.

Many residents found out about these cameras when the police department requested funds in this year’s budget to buy an additional camera and renew the contract with Flock. The city then withdrew the request and scheduled a public workshop instead. 

A spokesperson for No Flock for South Portland cited Flock’s record of ignoring established safeguards as a reason to doubt that this move definitively protects South Portland’s data.

“Changing who can search the system does not change the underlying problem,” the group said in a statement Thursday. “Limiting the reach of data-sharing to Maine agencies does not create local control of this data or prevent federal agencies from gaining access to South Portland data.”

No Flock for South Portland said in a media release this month that records indicate the city has shared network access with groups from 44 states, and 70 of these law enforcement agencies collaborate with federal immigration enforcement.

The City Council will continue its workshop on the city’s use of this technology on June 11.