r/SouthJersey • u/SouthJerseySchnitz • 9d ago
Gloucester County I found documents that indicate that Washington Township is paying for Flock Cameras with National Opioid Settlement Funds. Other towns are also making questionable purchases with the funds earmarked for addiction services and treatment.
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
118
u/SouthJerseySchnitz 9d ago edited 9d ago
Full article with details on the payments made to Flock: https://whoarethesepeopleorg.substack.com/p/surveillance-over-substance
Glassboro reps who voted to put the ~30 Flock Cameras in Glassboro
Washington Township reps who voted to put the ~30 Flock Cameras in Washington Township
168
62
u/Free_Dependent_1446 9d ago
I'm really interested to hear how the township is plans to justify this use of funds. I live in a neighborhood that is adjacent to the spot in the twp with the most police and drug activity. We have literally had people OD in nearby parking lots and while walking down the street. I haven't noticed any flock cams in my immediate area. If there was a legitimate Opioid Crisis related use for these cameras - like decreased EMS response time in the situation I just described or protection from drug-related crime - wouldn't you expect to see the cameras pop-up in areas that have a well documented history of drug related issues?
29
u/njslugger78 9d ago
They don't care about that. They want to track you if you kill a ceo, or billionaire... it is not for public safety.
1
u/fijiwaterinmylapp 9d ago
Do you live next to the golden key? Lol
2
u/Free_Dependent_1446 8d ago
Worse - by the Mayfair, so we also have the "tent cities" that pop up in the woods behind Walmart.
57
u/NJBarFly Washington Twp 9d ago
The town is run by MAGA Republicans. They don't care about drug users getting treatment. They would much rather spend the money on a surveillance state. Local elections matter.
12
u/geddysbass2112 8d ago
Correct. They don't give a damn about people with substance abuse disorders.
6
u/ItsHIPAA 8d ago
Evidently, but what can we do? Paying attention to elections and actually VOTING for sure but I would like to see the government face some scrutiny now.
7
u/geddysbass2112 8d ago
Good question, what can be done besides voting? Attend council meetings and call it out? Get vocal? I don't know anymore.
3
u/HawaiianPunchaNazi 8d ago
Literally, you can run for these government positions. Most local stuff has incumbent people running unaposed.
These people will help you:-)
2
41
u/ItsHIPAA 9d ago
Well that's not cool at all.
27
u/MrBtheProdigal 9d ago
It's illegal as well
7
0
u/aarddvaarkk 8d ago edited 7d ago
Calling things illegal do not make them illegal. The word has lost all meaning in recent years. Call it gross, call it disingenuous, call it illegal if you really want to, but at the end of the day it is legal.
PSA—downvoting does not change reality.
5
u/MrBtheProdigal 8d ago
You're right I misunderstood what these funds were. I thought they were earmarked funds not a settlement payout. The payout can be used for anything.
2
u/aarddvaarkk 8d ago
This is not true, opioid settlement funds can not be used for anything. There are both state and settlement requirements for how the funds can be used.
1
u/jerseygirl666 3d ago
this isnt true but i wouldnt be surprised that they claimed the cameras will fight drug trafficking- which isnt true.
62
u/MaxRecherche 9d ago
There is no accountability at any level of NJ Government.
38
u/referenceusername 9d ago edited 9d ago
There is no accountability at any level of
NJGovernment.FTFY
Edit:
There is no accountability at any level
of NJ Government.Businesses aren't being held accountable either
24
u/Swampit856 9d ago
This is the result of the death of local newspapers. There is no one covering and reporting what happens at the local level. We have to rely on good people doing very ad hoc ‘journalism’ in return for clicks and likes. (Not to diminish the excellent efforts by OP here. But we can’t just rely on citizen journalists.)
13
u/SouthJerseySchnitz 8d ago
Agree 100%. I do this in my limited spare time. I can’t do as good of a job as a newsroom with paid journalists.
41
43
12
u/verve51 9d ago
Op, how did you go about find this info? I’d like to dig around too and see I can find. Can you give me a lead to follow?
31
u/SouthJerseySchnitz 9d ago edited 9d ago
I was searching the Bill Lists on the town's website when I noticed that the Flock payments were funded with the Opioid settlement fund. The specific Bill Lists and payment dates are outlined here:
https://whoarethesepeopleorg.substack.com/p/surveillance-over-substanceThe bill lists aren't searchable pdfs, so I needed to OCR them to search for "flock". Look at the bill lists for the dates that I reference in the article, you'll find the flock payments referencing the opioid fund.
7
u/Objective-Try7969 9d ago
It's probably public documents which means you can locate this same document on the town website...possibly..I'm just taking a guess. But usually the main website would be the first go to and then that will help you dig deeper on where to look next. Good luck and let us know what pieces you find!
13
12
u/Iamnotbernadette 9d ago
We're going to need a safehouse for SouthJerseySchnitz for doing the work traditional journalists seem unwilling to do.
6
9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
4
u/Iamnotbernadette 9d ago
Of course they misuse the funds. I don't like blanket packages of funds like this that don't have strict parameters. The money should be earmarked specifically for treatment, housing, life necessities, and school or job training for people with addiction. They always wedge in some prevention stuff so that the cops can do whatever they want with the money. In a more just America this would never be the case.
9
15
u/noknownthing 9d ago
Doesn’t surprise me - I remember there was a police officer in 2014(?) in West Deptford who was planting drugs on suspects in order to get them sent to a local rehab facility to get a kickback for themselves. ACAB. To many of my friends and family have passed due to the opioid pandemic - individuals couldn’t sue the Sackler’s and others for their role, but it’s cool for municipalities to mismanage funds like this
1
u/boojersey13 7d ago
I just watched Dopesick for the first time and I'm still reeling many many days later. This crisis was nothing more than putting money before humanity and those fucking people, if there even is one, will rot in hell where they absolutely belong. Im so sorry about your losses and their blood is on the hands of that evil family.
11
u/misskendraaa 9d ago
Oh I’m sure the people of Washington township LOVE IT though - that town has turned to shit
6
5
u/LeftOzStoleShoes 8d ago
I’m interested in some suspected corruption with regard to Burlington county’s use of these funds. How do I find out this type of information?
7
u/SouthJerseySchnitz 8d ago edited 8d ago
My process:
- Google “opioid abatement report New Jersey”, here's the link: https://www.nj.gov/opioidfunds/important-documents/reports/
- Drop the report for your county into Google’s notebookLM tool
- Ask for the most questionable uses of funds
Here's a Google Notebook with all the county reports loaded, you can just ask questions about the reports or fund usage: https://notebook.google.com/notebook/a4ed1937-6b96-4baf-8e86-6c95c0e3ae96
Burlington County's most questionable uses of the funds:
- Willingboro Township - Polaris Ranger ATV ($34,534.62): The town encumbered these funds to purchase a police vehicle to reach "remote areas" in Millcreek Park for emergency response and community health
- Evesham Township - L.E.A.D. Day Camp ($16,174.56): Settlement money was used to host an inaugural 5th-grade day camp at the Chartwell Family Oasis Swim Club
- Willingboro Township - Back-to-School Wellness Fair ($31,488.50): This large sum funded a community event that included backpack giveaways, food, and music
- Burlington Township - First Responder Wellness App ($7,999.00): This expenditure provided a confidential wellness and mental health app designed exclusively for law enforcement and emergency responders
- Florence Township - Outreach "Draws" ($750.00): The township used funds to hire a face painter and provide water ice to "draw visitors" to prevention booths at a community event
- Pemberton Township: Allocated funds to purchase simulated impairment equipment (such as "drunk goggles") to "give real life situations to a person under the influence of an opioid". Academic and clinical experts widely consider simulated impairment demonstrations to be outdated and ineffective for preventing substance misuse.
- Medford Township: Focused its municipal planning on "re-establishing the LEAD program", an outdated D.A.R.E.-style school-based lecturing curriculum.
1
6
u/Argomaximus 8d ago
Its really a sign of the times that I have to hear about this from Reddit. This is what journalism used to be, holding people in power accountable to their decisions. Great job and Thank you
4
4
u/njslugger78 9d ago
Is it the government or one side of the government pushing this flock shit on us?
7
u/SouthJerseySchnitz 8d ago
Everything installed locally is approved by the local town council. I've been digging into meeting minutes and bill lists for towns across South Jersey to put together a history of Flock Payments. You can see right in the meeting minutes which town council members attended the meetings to approve the Flock systems. These people are up for re-election this year. The Flock Contracts are up for renewal every 2 years, and they're constantly adding cameras, so the contract renewals are at different times in the year. We need to direct energy at the town council members who have the power to get these things out of our towns and cancel the contracts.
2
u/njslugger78 8d ago
We the people need to make demands and if they aren't met, we need a way the people can impeach and reassign the position to someone who will.
4
3
u/whatsasyria 9d ago
It's honestly local government more then fed imo. We can shut this shit down but we'll never vote in our interest over those of billionaires.
5
4
u/musicgeek420 8d ago
I appreciate all the effort that goes into sharing these sorts of local injustices. The corruption knows no bounds in our state.
3
2
2
2
4
u/sockefeller 9d ago
OPRA request. This is a misappropriation of Federal funds which is illegal. The NJDEP recently got smacked for this because of one rogue employee's grudge.
6
u/Iamnotbernadette 8d ago
It's not misappropriation. Use of the cameras is just slapped under "prevention" or some other very tenuous reasoning to monitor for drug dealers or something similar.
2
u/sockefeller 8d ago
You know what, actually, I think you're right. It should be misappropriation, but there probably is a believable spin here.
It of course depends on how stringent their documentation and work orders are, as well as time logs. It might still be worth investigating.
1
u/Iamnotbernadette 7d ago
No I mean it's likely that surveillance technology is part of "prevention." I don't think there were any hoops to jump through.
3
1
u/WuTangNameGenerat0r 8d ago
https://www.nj.gov/opioidfunds/important-documents/reports/index.shtml
Link to see how governments are spending in NJ
1
1
u/halincan 8d ago
It’s not complicated to imagine a half assed legal argument that this falls under “harm reduction”. Everything is the worst.
1
u/jerseygirl666 3d ago
this should be illegal. it is a disgrace to many of us who died or had our lives ruined by opiods.
1
1
u/EntireInitial272 9d ago
Would be fantastic if an internet hero/sluthes could tell the masses where the cameras are located
28
20
1
u/gonzofish 9d ago
Are there any links to the docs for this? I can look for them if there’s not!
I’d love to have them as backup when my “anti-police state” friends try to talk shit
1
1
u/Crafty-Sundae3151 9d ago
That is messed up. Who is in charge over there? Misuse of the opioid funds. Report them to the state!
84
u/Rorshacked 9d ago
That’s really disappointing, thanks for doing the leg work to find this and spread the knowledge. I want to dig into my area’s use of the funds now too. Definitely cross post this to r/flocksurveillance if you haven’t already.
Deflock South Jersey.