What are flock cameras? Are there any in OKC?

Across Oklahoma, concern about Flock cameras is growing.

Many residents worry their information is being tracked, but law enforcement said these cameras help keep everyone safe.

RELATED: Concerns about OKC Flock cameras grow, lawmakers push for interim study

What are Flock cameras?

Flock cameras are automated license plate readers from the company Flock Safety.

According to its website, over 5,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide use Flock cameras.

Flock Safety cameras are widely used, but many other companies make and distribute similar ALPRs.

Flock cameras look like regular traffic cameras, but they can track a car's make, model, color, license plate number and any other defining characteristics.

Information collected by these cameras is put into a searchable database. Law enforcement agencies can use this information to find a car connected to a crime.

Mark Nelson, President of the Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police, confirmed that faces cannot be seen on Flock cameras.

"We don't take pictures of who's driving vehicles," he said.

Flock cameras stir up controversy

Law enforcement in the state said that Flock cameras help keep everyone safe, but many Oklahomans worry their privacy could be invaded.

"We believe all Oklahomans deserve the right to privacy, in some form in public," said Tamya Cox-Touré, President of the Oklahoma chapter of ACLU. " Surveillance that these cameras do definitely interfere with that right."

Nelson said the main reason for Flock cameras is to prevent further crimes from happening, and to deter people from doing crime.

"Being able to get those people off the street is a big deal to … I would hope to the community and certainly for law enforcement.

Lawmakers push for more Flock camera laws

A 2013 law meant to target uninsured motorists allowed Flock cameras to be used in the state.

Today, a lawmaker is pushing to have an intern study Flock cameras.

Sen. Mary Boren (D-Norman) said lawmakers need to find the balance for how Flock cameras should and shouldn't be used.

"The FOP is right to say that these cameras can keep us safer, but with public law enforcement under constitutional civil liberties that we also have to make sure that we are also not surveilling people who are not doing anything wrong," said Boren.

Boren said lawmakers need to decide:

• Who can keep that data
• How long data can be stored for
• Who can access the data and what processes should law enforcement go through to see the data

"We want privacy, and we want security," said Boren. "We shouldn't have to sacrifice our privacy to feel safe in Oklahoma."

Where are Flock cameras in Oklahoma City

A community-run organized group, DeFlock OKC, said nearly 300 cameras are in OKC.

To see their full list of Flock cameras in OKC, click here.