Topic
Contracts & cost
Procurement, pricing, renewals, and what taxpayers are paying.
26 articles · page 1 of 2 · RSS
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Local city council unanimously votes to end contract with Flock amid privacy concerns
dayton247now.com
Monroe, Ohio council members voted unanimously to terminate the city's Flock Safety contract and deactivate all 23 license plate reading cameras. The city had approved a two-year contract in 2024 at a cost of $149,950. Residents spoke on both sides, with some citing a digital dragnet and others arguing plates in public view carry no privacy expectation. Council members noted voters could restore the program later.
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County supervisors vote to take down all sheriff's Flock cameras
montereycountynow.com
Monterey County supervisors voted 3-2 to decline a proposed $1.7 million, 10-year Flock Safety contract and directed the Sheriff's Office to end access to 63 cameras and remove them within 60 days. Deputies had queried the system nearly 20,000 times in a year, with an estimated 500,000 queries by partner agencies. Officials cited earlier improper out-of-state access; the sheriff and district attorney defended the technology.
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Flock Offers Employees Buyouts as Customers Flee
wired.com
Flock Safety opened a voluntary severance program for its roughly 1,500 employees, described internally as its most generous ever, as the company loses customers. One advocacy group counted 93 city and county governments ending ties with Flock in August alone, with about three times as many local governments dropping the company in 2026 as in the prior five years. Vandalism of cameras has also raised costs.
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Hutto City Council votes to end use of Flock Safety license plate readers
communityimpact.com
Hutto City Council voted unanimously on Sept. 18 to discontinue the police department's use of 10 Flock Safety license plate reader cameras, which were taken down before the vote. City staff cited concerns that partner agencies accessing the data are not bound by Hutto Police Department policies, along with questions about artificial intelligence developments. Nearby Pflugerville, Bastrop, Liberty Hill and Leander also recently ended Flock use.
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City Council discusses affordable housing overhaul, introduces license plate reader ban
idsnews.com
The Bloomington City Council introduced Ordinance 2026-22, which would bar the city and its agents from acquiring or using automated license plate reader technology and from sharing surveillance camera data with third parties. The measure follows a March 2026 resolution on ALPR transparency, the city's April decision not to renew its Flock Safety contract after an investigation, and Monroe County's July termination of its own Flock contract. A vote is planned Oct. 14.
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BREAKING: County Board votes to end Arlington’s use of Flock cameras
arlnow.com
The Arlington County Board voted to discontinue use of 41 county-leased Flock Safety devices, 26 license plate readers and 15 pan-tilt-zoom cameras, and to begin removing the equipment within 14 business days. Data not tied to active investigations will be deleted. The program, costing $106,250 plus a $93,000 annual fee, was never formally presented to the Board and drew resident-led opposition campaigns.
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El Paso City Council to vote Tuesday on removing Flock cameras
kfoxtv.com
El Paso City Council is set to vote on directing the city manager to remove all Flock license plate reader cameras from city-controlled property within 60 days, and on a second item requiring council approval for any future ALPR contracts. The city's 150 cameras were funded by the state Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, and the police department halted use after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a funding pause amid misuse and privacy concerns.
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Oconomowoc Moves to Kill $18,000 Flock Camera Deal Amid Statewide Backlash
hoodline.com
Oconomowoc's Common Council is set to vote on cutting $18,000 from its budget, which would end the city's six Flock Safety license plate cameras after three years. The article compiles related Wisconsin developments: two former Milwaukee officers charged with using Flock to track ex-partners, a wrongful gunpoint stop caused by a stale alert, and contract terminations in Menasha, Stoughton, Sheboygan, and Fond du Lac County.
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Lebanon shuts off Flock cameras after company fails to reply to letter with concerns
wvxu.org
Lebanon, Ohio, council voted to immediately shut off and cover 20 Flock Safety license plate readers after the company did not answer a mayoral letter containing 54 questions about data retention and access within 21 days. Officials cited Mountain View's discovery of a changed nationwide search setting and a reported offer to sell five years of data to Sheboygan, Wisconsin. A motion to terminate the contract failed 4-3.
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Lynchburg City Council votes to end Flock Safety contract amid surveillance concerns
wsls.com
Lynchburg City Council voted 6-0 to direct the city manager to notify Flock Safety that the company's cameras will no longer operate in the city. Council members said staff could not confirm whether microphones as well as cameras would be removed, or give a removal date. The city may owe $35,000 for early termination, and a follow-up vote was scheduled. Cameras remain offline.
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Reps. Massie, Burlison Introduce the "Flock-Off Act" to Defund Surveillance State Cameras
massie.house.gov
Representatives Thomas Massie and Eric Burlison introduced H.R. 10221, the Flock-Off Act, which would prohibit federal funds from purchasing, installing, maintaining, or operating automated license plate readers and biometric surveillance cameras. The bill would require removal of federally funded systems within 180 days, bar funding for related contracts, subscriptions, and data-sharing arrangements, and exempt border-area cameras and toll enforcement. Cosponsors include Boebert, Gosar, Khanna, Roy, and Spartz.
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Flock contract cancellations grow among cities, other jurisdictions
thehill.com
Tempe and Cave Creek, Arizona, terminated their Flock Safety license plate reader contracts, joining more than 90 jurisdictions tracked by DeFlock that have cancelled or rejected the technology. Officials cited high-profile misuse cases, including a Washington Post finding that over 50 officers were accused of improper ALPR searches. Senator Josh Hawley opened an investigation, and Flock announced new audit and lockout features.
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Narragansett council votes to end Flock surveillance camera program
bostonglobe.com
Narragansett's town council voted 5-0 to terminate its Flock Safety contract, which ran to 2027, and to absorb any cancellation fees. Residents and members raised data-misuse concerns, and a former councilwoman noted the program had outgrown its authorization as a one-year pilot. The town operated three cameras; a fourth was stolen.
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Police are spending opioid settlement funds on Flock cameras
motherjones.com
Mother Jones identified 19 law enforcement agencies in ten states that spent more than $920,000 in opioid settlement funds on Flock cameras and competing license plate readers since 2024, plus six localities funding contracts with the Peregrine data platform. Officials argued the cameras address drug trafficking, while addiction policy advocates and residents in Morgantown and Pensacola objected that the money should fund treatment.
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Flock Cameras Got the Wrong License Plate 71% of the Time in California City
gizmodo.com
An analysis reported by Business Insider found that of 1,427 Flock camera alerts sent to Roseville, California police between 2023 and 2024, 71% of stolen-vehicle or felony-related alerts involved misread plates. Flock attributed the errors to older hardware and non-standard camera placement, a claim Roseville police dispute. The city has spent roughly $450,000; the Institute for Justice has documented at least 27 wrongful stops nationally.
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Map Shows Cities That Have Rejected, Deactivated Flock Cameras
newsweek.com
Drawing on DeFlock's crowd-sourced data, Newsweek counts 95 cities that have rejected ALPR systems: 22 deactivating cameras, 47 canceling contracts, and 25 turning down proposed agreements. Ypsilanti, Michigan is identified as the only jurisdiction with an outright ban. Officials cited privacy risk, federal data access, and inadequate public consultation.
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Monroe County cancels contract with Flock Safety
ipm.org
Monroe County commissioners voted 2-0 to end their Flock Safety contract more than a year early, paying roughly $3,000 to remove six sheriff's office cameras. Commissioner Julie Thomas acknowledged the cameras' usefulness but said "the way the data has been abused...is terrible." The sheriff raised no objection. Bloomington had declined to renew its own contract in April 2026.
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Flock Safety Employees Watched Kids' Gymnastics Room to Pitch Surveillance Tech (Updated)
yahoo.com
Public records obtained by a Dunwoody, Georgia resident show Flock Safety staff, including a vice president, viewed cameras labeled "Gymnastics" and "Main Pool Right" at a Jewish community center during sales demonstrations for prospective police clients. Flock's CEO apologized, and the city council renewed the contract with added data-ownership guardrails. The piece also notes Georgia officer misuse arrests, camera vandalism, and LAPD letting its Flock contract expire.
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Flock Safety ALPR Camera Installation Project (Notice of Exemption)
ceqanet.lci.ca.gov
A primary-source state filing. The City of Santa Rosa posted a CEQA Notice of Exemption on 3 April 2026 for installing a Flock camera and solar panel on an existing traffic signal or streetlight pole in the public right-of-way, on behalf of the Santa Rosa Police Department, on the grounds that no ground disturbance or new infrastructure is involved.
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Sonoma Extends Flock License Plate Camera Contract Through 2028
ksro.com
The Sonoma City Council unanimously approved a three-year, $150,000 extension of its Flock Safety license plate reader contract. Police Chief Brandon Cutting cited a 100% solution rate in recent vehicle-involved crimes, and the city maintains a 30-day deletion policy and a ban on sharing data with federal immigration agencies. Sonoma operates 16 cameras and officials are discussing expanding coverage to all major routes into town.