Five Local Governments Just Dumped Flock's Plate Cameras in a Single Week

In the span of seven days, five local governments in four states decided they're done with Flock Safety's license plate cameras.

Henrico County, Virginia, announced Oct. 6 that it was ending its Flock contract early, after more than 120 cameras and about $1 million over four years. The county manager's explanation was blunt: "sometimes a tool can — because of its power — just be too much for a community." The next night, the town council in Damascus, Virginia, voted unanimously to drop its three cameras after nearly 300 people signed a petition, which would be more than a third of the town if all of them live there. Residents danced outside town hall.

Reno said Oct. 8 it won't renew when its contract expires in March, and it is ending a police-drone contract too. On Monday, Frankfort, Kentucky, voted unanimously not to renew its 19-camera deal, and Plano, Illinois, voted unanimously to pay a small fee to have its four cameras switched off and pulled before the contract runs out.

No court ordered any of this. It came from residents showing up at meetings and signing petitions, and from a steady stream of cases where officers misused plate-reader data. Cardinal News counts about two dozen Virginia localities that have ended or significantly changed their Flock contracts since summer.

It isn't the end of plate readers. Reno's council votes Oct. 21 on a contract with a different vendor, nearby Sparks swapped Flock for Axon, and Frankfort says it may bring cameras back once rules are in place. Dropping the vendor is the first win. Warrant requirements and real limits on the data are what make it stick, so keep showing up.

Sources: Cardinal News (Damascus), VPM (Henrico), KUNR (Reno), WKYT (Frankfort), WSPY (Plano, Ill.)

Photo: Damascus residents outside town hall after the vote. Siena Duncan / Cardinal News.