Police chief limits external access to Flock cameras; Carmel schedules evacuation drill and Car Week session

Carmel-by-the-Sea's Police Chief told the council on Friday that the city has disabled external access to its six Flock automated license-plate reader cameras and that a supervisor reviews Flock usage to ensure the program operates "by the book."

"I turned off all external access to our Flock cameras," the Police Chief said, adding that the cameras had previously been accessible by other local agencies. The chief said he made the change to strengthen privacy and oversight.

The chief also announced a community evacuation drill likely to take place on Saturday, May 30, in the morning. "On Saturday, May 30 in the morning, let's say 09:00, you will have an opportunity to participate as a Carmel resident," he said, describing an exercise in which residents drive to staging points, then to rendezvous or relocation points while CERT and law-enforcement partners practice crowd control and other procedures.

City staff also said they are continuing conversations with PG&E following recent storms and that "grab-and-go" PG&E bags containing power chargers, flashlights, blankets and snacks remain available at the police station while supplies last.

The Police Chief announced a second Car Week listening session to be held at the Sunset Center's Carpenter Hall; he said the session will be posted in the Friday letter and broadcast on the city's YouTube channel. The meeting transcript provides an unclear date for that session; the city website and Friday letter should be consulted for the confirmed date and time.