Mea Culpa

By Tommy Acosta —

Sedona, AZ — Accusations will fly. Fingers will be pointed. Emails will be written. Complaints will be filed.

Welcome to another normal day in Sedona, the gripe capital of the world.

One thing that is a constant in our sleepy little town: we can always count on some community altercation or verbal fisticuffs over one issue or another.

Now we have the imposition and installation of automatic license plate readers all over Sedona that were acquired by the Sedona Police Department, after approval by staff, and erected by the city without community input or council discussion or direction.

An August 13 hearing on the matter revealed that residents who made the effort to attend and speak are overwhelmingly against what has been called a surveillance system that imposes on the privacy of residents and visitors alike.

A recent poll by Sedona Red Rock News showed 70 percent of the respondents were against them, and published editorials against them as well, with Sedona.biz joining the clamor in opposition to the cameras.

On top of that, we have the mayor and police chief filing complaints against each other, adding more ire to the fight for or against the cameras.

On one side the mayor is blamed for pushing for the cameras without going through proper channels, and on the other side, the SPD is blamed for contacting Flock Safety (providers of the cameras) to move the installation forward without getting the green light from the council.

But no one has stepped up and said “Mea Culpa” to satiate the bloodlust of the community that stands firmly against them.

But it appears via all the reporting that has been made and ink spilled on the scuffle, that the blame frest firmly on the shoulders of the mayor and SPD because they are the ones who championed and most supported the ALPRs, claiming that they will improve community policing and security.

For those not familiar with these cameras, they can read your plates and potentially put the data into nationwide computer banks — so they say — info that can be used to build profiles on each -and – every driver whose plates are scanned.

Reportedly, there have been a dozen cameras installed so far in Sedona, with more than 10,000 cities surveilled by them across the country.

In the August 13 meeting the council directed staff to shut off the cameras pending a follow-up meeting scheduled for mid-September.

So, the mayor and the police have a common ground. They both want those cameras.
Unfortunately, the community does not, and we can be sure councilors seeking re-election will keep this in mind when moving forward.

So maybe the mayor and the SPD can shake hands, kill their complaints, try to convince the community to back the ALPRs and get Sedona in line with all the other Flock surveillances in the country — or just let it die on the vine and not look back. And then move on to the next community donnybrook waiting around the corner.