Cities and Utah Governor Crack Down on Flock Safety

The cities of Tempe, Arizona, and Pflugerville, Texas, have terminated their contracts with Flock Safety and deactivated their automated license plate reader networks. Tempe shut down 33 cameras on August 26, with Mayor Corey Woods stating that the risk of misuse outweighs the system's utility. While Tempe police audits found no local improper use, the decision followed reports of abuse in nearby Apache Junction and Chandler. Tempe will not replace the technology with another provider.

In Pflugerville, the City Council voted unanimously to end its agreement after discovering that Flock Safety allowed non-partner law enforcement agencies to access city data. Mayor Doug Weiss noted that the city cannot engage with organizations it cannot trust. These actions mirror similar terminations by the Los Angeles Police Department and various California cities over privacy and federal data-sharing concerns.

Simultaneously, Utah Governor Spencer Cox ordered the Utah Privacy Governing Board and the Utah Privacy Commission to review regulations governing the cameras. This follows a Utah Civic Compact investigation revealing that 10 cameras in Weber County were searched over 5 million times between 2022 and 2026. Nearly 97% of those requests came from police agencies in 45 other states, with the Houston Police Department accounting for over 26% of the searches. Cox expressed concern over the lack of verification systems to ensure out-of-state agencies follow Utah privacy laws.