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Yesterday, I made my usual excursion to the Old Mission Post Office, both to check my mail and also to drive around the Peninsula and see what’s happening out there. There are usually a few photo opps in my travels or someone in their yard I’ll stop and talk with.
In my post box was one note with no return address and no signature. Ooh, I thought. What is this about? Does Old Mission Gazette have its own Deep Throat, the anonymous government source who helped to take down President Nixon in the Watergate scandal (and who turned out to be Former FBI Deputy Director William Mark Felt, who broke his 30-year silence and confirmed in 2005 that he was the mysterious Deep Throat)?
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Do I have my very own Confidential Informant? Can I start talking about “my CI” like they do on those CBS crime shows? If so, I’m totally onboard! Keep sending me info, CI.
The mysterious note reads:
“Your readers might be interested to learn about the new solar cameras that are up on M-37. There’s one at the boat launch, the Unitarian church, and Peninsula Drive intersection. I believe they are for ICE.”
Thank you, good citizen, for the info! Here’s what I know about these cameras, known as “Flock” cameras, which I initially reported on here.
In 2023, the Peninsula Township Board voted to allow the installation of six of these license plate reader cameras. Grand Traverse County Sheriff Mike Shea explained that the cameras help police investigators solve crimes, and can also be used as traffic counters.
“These cameras are the latest and greatest, and they are not just a license plate reader,” he said. “They are a vehicle identifier.”
According to Flock Safety, the company that builds and writes the software for the cameras, the solar-powered cameras are motion activated, operate 24/7, and only take a picture of the back of the vehicle. There is no face recognition, and they do not track the speed of vehicles.
However, Shea noted that the cameras capture vehicle details that law enforcement personnel need to track leads and solve crimes. The technology allows them to search by vehicle make, color, type, license plate, state of the license plate, missing plate, covered plate, paper plate, and unique vehicle details such as roof racks, bumper stickers and more.
Shea added that when he was a detective, he picked up a case that had been ongoing for three years in Grand Traverse County. “Peninsula Township was one of the places where people were being victimized, and they could not catch these people,” he said. “Fast forward, and I was able to ID and convict them, and it happened to be from a case out here. Had we had Flock cameras, this would have been shut down years ago.”
He also mentioned the still-unsolved incident in 2013 when Kelly Boyce was hit and killed by a vehicle as she was riding her bike home from work in Traverse City. “If these cameras were up [at that time], I don’t think it would be an unsolved case,” said Shea. “From an investigative standpoint, from a public safety standpoint, it’s huge.”
What about the privacy of Peninsula Township residents? Shea understands the concerns, but noted, “Would you not rather we stop you and ID you and find out that nope, you’re not the one we’re looking for, if you are the victim of the crime?”
He also mentioned that worries over camera misuse led the American Civil Liberties Union to propose guidelines for law enforcement agencies in municipalities that choose to implement the technology.
The cameras came up at this week’s Township Board meeting, and it was mentioned that they were used to apprehend a child trafficker.
Are they also used for cases involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as my CI suggests? Read on…
CLARIFICATION UPDATE ON ICE: May 23, 2025
I can now confirm that the Flock cameras on the OMP are NOT used by ICE, because I received this note from Connor Metz, Public Relations Manager from Flock Safety’s PR Team, on Monday, May 19. He writes:
Good Morning Jane,
Connor here from Flock Safety’s PR Team, I hope you’re well!
Recently spotted your recent article I Have a Confidential Informant published on Friday, and wanted to let you and your “CI” know that we have no contracts with ICE or CBP, and never have. We’d appreciate a clarification at your earliest convenience there.
Separately, I loved the article and think it’s a perfect example of great journalism. Get a tip, dig in, interview a good source, and write it all up in a compelling and fun way. I admire your work ethic and commitment to your outlet, and lament that there are so few like yours/you! We need far more local media in this country.
I appreciate your time,
Connor
Thanks, Connor! I have updated this story and also included the clarification in this week’s news roundup here. Appreciate your kind words about the Gazette!
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SUPPORT YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWSPAPER: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So I started my own newspaper.
Because Old Mission Gazette is a "Reader Supported Newspaper" -- meaning it exists because of your financial support -- I hope you'll consider tossing a few bucks our way if I mention your event, your business, your organization or your news item, or if you simply love reading about what's happening on the OMP. In a time when local news is becoming a thing of the past, supporting an independent community newspaper is more important now than ever. Thank you so much for your support! -Jane Boursaw, Editor/Publisher, Old Mission Gazette
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