Local governments step back from Flock surveillance systems
At least 10 local governments and police departments have moved since the summer to curb, restrict or end their use of Flock Safety surveillance technology. The changes affect deployments of license-plate readers and come as more than 100,000 Flock cameras remain in use across the United States.
Monroe, Ohio; Newburgh, New York; Richmond, Virginia; Hopkinton and New Bedford, Massachusetts; and Lansing, Michigan, have moved to end their Flock contracts. Police in East Bridgewater and Grafton, Massachusetts, also announced plans to stop using the cameras. In League City, Texas, residents voted against continued police use of Flock license-plate readers, and the equipment is set to be removed.
Privacy, sharing and oversight drive the response
The objections span privacy, data-sharing practices and procurement. Asheville, North Carolina, lost police access after its city terminated the contract in August, while the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado said in September it would stop using Flock cameras. Sheriff Joseph Roybal said the county had the tools, training and experience to locate and apprehend criminals without relying on them.
Concerns have also focused on misuse. In August, an officer in Brentwood, Missouri, was accused of using Flock cameras to stalk his former wife during divorce proceedings. In September, an East Texas officer was sentenced to prison for using Flock to stalk his former girlfriend and her family.
Ithaca, New York, cited reports of federal agencies obtaining query results from state and local automatic license-plate reader data when it passed a resolution in March to terminate its contract. The policy debate also follows questions raised when Flock’s police contracts amid misuse allegations examined Flock’s police contracts amid allegations of misuse.
Flock changes retention rules as cities set limits
Flock says its tools help police solve serious crimes, find suspects, recover stolen vehicles and locate missing people. The company says each customer owns and controls its data, that Flock does not sell data, and that it has no contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In August, Flock said it would reduce default data retention for new customers from 30 days to seven days. It also said agencies would need a case code before searching the database. At the state level, Florida barred license-plate readers from state highways during the summer, while Texas paused state funding for Flock.
Restrictions rather than full withdrawal
Not every government is ending its use. Cleveland, Ohio, extended its Flock contract but began restricting immigration-related searches and limited database access to Cleveland Police, removing access for the Northeast Ohio Regional Fusion Center. The city is also reviewing responses to a request for proposals from other vendors offering similar technology.
For businesses and public bodies deploying data-intensive systems, the practical implication is clear: procurement must include defined retention periods, auditable search rules, tightly scoped access and transparent public governance before technology is put into operation.