Overview
- Tempe, Arizona shut off its Flock system and said it would end the company contract on Aug. 26, and the city said the cameras are no longer collecting license‑plate data.
- A growing list of local governments has cut or declined Flock contracts, with an Institute for Justice database documenting 92 cancelations or nonrenewals since 2025.
- Reporting and local audits have found officers using Flock and other ALPR systems to run improper searches, and a Stow, Massachusetts officer resigned after an internal probe found repeated unauthorized queries.
- Flock has moved to shorten recommended plate‑data retention from 30 days to seven days and added audit tools, but those changes do not automatically bind agency contracts or stop cross‑jurisdictional access.
- Physical attacks on cameras, a Florida police sting using 3D‑printed decoys that led to felony charges, and at least one grand jury refusal to indict show uneven legal responses and raise pressure for clearer procurement rules and laws.