SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Eight Flock license-plate cameras were knocked down or damaged in the Boiling Springs area of Spartanburg County in September, and four people now face charges, the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies said four vandalism cases were reported on Sept. 8. While investigating those, they found more cameras had been damaged between Sept. 20 and 21. Investigators identified four suspects, three of them juveniles, and charged each with malicious injury to personal property.
A sheriff’s lieutenant said anyone found guilty would have to pay restitution to the cameras’ owners. The cameras were not owned by the sheriff’s office, so replacing them falls to Flock and the private owners who bought them. The company puts replacement costs for vandalized, stolen or damaged equipment at between $350 and $5,000.
The lieutenant said people are free to protest or oppose the technology, but damaging it will end up costing them money. The sheriff’s office credits the camera network with helping solve crimes, including the kidnapping of a 12-year-old girl, and said there have been no reported cases of the cameras being misused in Spartanburg.
The charges are accusations, and those charged are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
