Harrisburg, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – The ongoing debate over automated license plate readers has taken a visible turn in Poinsett County, where Harrisburg Mayor Justin Kimble ordered the city’s Flock cameras be covered with black trash bags and taken offline.
In a statement posted Sunday morning on Facebook, Kimble cited deep concerns over privacy, data retention, and the Fourth Amendment after spending weeks researching the technology and speaking with lawmakers.
“These systems may have started as another tool to help law enforcement locate stolen vehicles, missing persons, and people involved in serious crimes,” Kimble said. “But technology evolves. Systems become interconnected. Databases grow. Information can be retained, searched, shared, and even sold for potential profit gain.”
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After consulting with state legislators, senators, and private citizens like Kyle Wigginton, Kimble made the call to blind the city’s network.
“When government technology reaches the point where it can potentially create a detailed record of where ordinary citizens travel, the history and life of a vehicle… or building a case against people with information from a camera without a legitimate search warrant, I believe we have an obligation to ask some very serious questions,” Kimble said.
The mayor emphasized that his decision is not anti-law-enforcement, nothing that public safety and constitutional liberty are not mutually exclusive. He called on state and federal lawmakers to establish clear safeguards, adding that Harrisburg’s cameras will remain offline, covered, or be completely removed until those protections are in place.
Kimble’s decision highlights a rift in how neighboring communities handle the surveillance technology.
As previously reported by JRN, while some municipalities are reevaluating or pulling back their use of automated readers, Jonesboro has heavily invested in expanding its own network.
The Jonesboro Police Department (JPD) currently maintains 55 Flock cameras at an annual cost of $192,500, citing their effectiveness in solving crimes despite concerns over direct access and data retention policies.
| READ MORE: The Flock Divide: Why Jonesboro is Expanding its Camera Network While Others Pull Back
The regional controversy isn’t limited to policy debates and trash bags. In Jonesboro, the physical cameras have recently been the target of vandalism. Four Flock cameras were recently destroyed by gunfire, and persons of interest were subsequently identified by police.
JPD Public Information Official Sally Smith told JRN that as of Sept. 28, the vandalism case remains active, and they are waiting on the returns of the warrants.
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