How to Get Flock Cameras Removed: Civic Steps and City Precedents

How to Get Flock Cameras Removed: The Steps

To get Flock cameras removed from your town, locate the municipal contract, pull audit logs showing who searches the system, and present those specific records during public comment before council votes.

Towns that voted to end their automated license plate reader programs did so through established local government procedures. You can follow five concrete steps to pursue camera removal in your jurisdiction:

1. Confirm your town uses Flock Safety cameras. Check whether your local police department or sheriff operates automated license plate readers (ALPR) manufactured by Flock Safety. Many law enforcement agencies host a public transparency portal at transparency.flocksafety.com, such as the portal operated by Kent County, Michigan for its 62 cameras. You can also consult civic mapping tools like DeFlock, an open-source project mapping license plate cameras, or view our Flock camera map guide to locate local hardware.
2. Obtain the municipal contract and renewal dates. Submit a public records request to your city clerk or police records division for the full contract with Flock Safety, including all amendments, pricing schedules, and expiration dates. Look for specific provisions: Lynchburg, Virginia pays about $3,000 per camera a year under a subscription, and its amended contract contains a $500 early-termination charge per device removed. Note the renewal deadline so you can organize community engagement well in advance.
3. Request system audit logs and network sharing settings. File a formal request for your police department's Flock audit logs. According to Have I Been Flocked, there are three distinct log types: organization, network, and portal/public logs. Have I Been Flocked notes that audit logs download in 31-day increments and agencies reply in about 2 to 5 weeks. Look for searches by outside agencies and for search reasons tied to immigration or protests, which 404 Media and EFF found in other agencies' records.
4. Bring local documentation to city council public comment. Attend council meetings before the contract's renewal date or budget vote. Prepare a short, factual testimony citing the exact cost of the contract, the number of devices installed, and the external search activity uncovered in the audit logs. Coordinate with neighbors to ensure multiple speakers address the topic during the allotted public comment session.
5. Demand a specific council vote. Request that council members vote to terminate the contract, decline an upcoming renewal, or pass restrictive operational safeguards. In Lynchburg, council members proposed an audit, a warrant requirement, and termination with 30 days' notice (August 2026). Give your elected representatives a clear procedural action to take rather than a broad complaint.

Copyable Outlines for Records and Council Testimony

Clear, factual text helps keep public records requests and council remarks focused on verifiable administrative issues. You can adapt the structural outlines below using the facts documented in your town's actual records.

When drafting a public records request to your local police department or municipal records custodian, use specific terms rather than vague descriptions:

• Identify the agency by name and cite the state freedom of information or public records statute.
• Request a copy of the current vendor contract with Flock Safety, including any master services agreements, addenda, and fee schedules.
• Request the organization audit log, network audit log, and public transparency portal log for the past 12 months, noting that Have I Been Flocked explains these export in 31-day increments.
• Request the agency's written automated license plate reader policy, data retention schedules, and current agency sharing list showing all external departments authorized to search the local network.

When preparing testimony for the public comment portion of a city council meeting, organize your statement around concrete findings:

• State your name and confirm you are a municipal resident.
• Quote the per-camera fee from your local contract (Lynchburg pays about $3,000 per camera a year; Cortland paid $3,000 per camera) and state the total cost.
• Note that Flock's contract terms say customer data belongs to the customer and "Flock shall not sell Customer Data."
• Cite 404 Media's May 2025 report of more than 4,000 nationwide and statewide lookups by local and state police tied to ICE or immigration, found in public records from the Danville, Illinois police department; ICE had no Flock contract and worked through local police.
• Reference finding by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which obtained records of more than 12 million searches logged by more than 3,900 agencies between December 2024 and October 2025 and found hundreds tied to protests (50501, Hands Off, No Kings), as well as a Johnson County, Texas search connected to a woman's self-managed abortion reaching 6,809 networks and 83,345 cameras.
• Highlight legal challenges, such as the September 10, 2026 suit by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and others against Waukesha County and 11 municipalities asking that police get a warrant before searching Flock data; it cites United States v. Chatrie, which it describes as finding a Google location-data search was a Fourth Amendment search.
• Conclude by asking the council to place contract termination or non-renewal on the official agenda for a binding vote.

Towns That Ended Flock Contracts

Several municipalities across the United States have formally voted to terminate or decline renewal for their Flock Safety camera systems. Examining the decisions made by other municipal councils illustrates the administrative rationales that led to contract cancellations.

• Lynnwood, Washington: On February 23, 2026, the Lynnwood City Council voted 7-0 to cancel its Flock contract. The city had deployed 25 plate readers on a two-year contract worth $171,000, funded mostly by a state auto-theft grant alongside $38,000 from the police budget. The vote followed public comment from residents since late 2025 and reporting that out-of-state and federal agencies had searched the network for immigration enforcement.
• Asheville, North Carolina: On August 25, 2026, the Asheville City Council voted 5-2 to terminate its contract with Flock Safety. The council ordered hardware removed and data access and sharing suspended, after the mayor called for cancellation.
• Harrisonburg, Virginia: In July 2026, the Harrisonburg City Council voted 4-0 to end its contract with Flock Safety.
• Cortland, Ohio: On September 2, 2026, the city announced it would not renew its contract for 10 Flock cameras at $3,000 per camera, citing "a lack of funding."
• Austin, Evanston, and Eugene: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) reports that Austin, Evanston and Eugene canceled or refused to renew Flock contracts.

Fallback Options If Councils Refuse to Cancel

If a municipal council declines to terminate or cancel its contract immediately, residents can advocate for operational restrictions that limit data sharing and retention. Several policy adjustments can be enacted through municipal resolutions or police policy directives.

Flock states that federal agencies are not part of statewide or national lookup networks, and that in August 2025 it publicly announced it would no longer conduct pilot projects with federal agencies. However, 404 Media reported more than 4,000 nationwide and statewide lookups by local and state police tied to ICE or immigration, found through public-records data from the Danville, Illinois police department; ICE had no Flock contract and worked through local police. Restricting network access locally limits external lookups. You can read more about these network mechanisms in our guide to Flock Safety data sharing.

State-Level Rules and Statutory Limits

State statutes can impose operational constraints on automated license plate readers that local police departments must obey. Two states in our sources set limits on plate readers:

• Washington State: Washington State's SB 6002 was signed in late March 2026. The law keeps plate-reader data 21 days unless it is needed as evidence; bans use for immigration enforcement, tracking protected activity such as free speech, and abortion-related investigations; bars collection near protected health facilities, immigration facilities, schools, courts, food banks and places of worship; and requires agencies to keep access logs for two years.
• Illinois: Illinois' 2023 law bans sharing plate-reader data to enforce immigration or abortion-related laws. In August 2025, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said Flock broke this law by giving U.S. Customs and Border Protection access to Illinois data through a pilot and ordered the access shut off; Flock's CEO said "We clearly communicated poorly" and disagreed with the legal claim.

Courts have also considered Fourth Amendment challenges to automated license plate reading systems. In Norfolk, Virginia, residents Lee Schmidt and Crystal Arrington, represented by the Institute for Justice, sued over the city's 176 Flock cameras. On January 27, 2026, federal judge Mark Davis ruled for the city, writing that ALPR surveillance "could become too intrusive... at some point" but "at least in Norfolk, Virginia, the answer is: not today." Schmidt's car had been photographed 475 times in 4.5 months, and plaintiffs stated they would appeal. In Wisconsin, the lawsuit filed on September 10, 2026 against Waukesha County and 11 municipalities asks courts to mandate warrants before police search Flock database records. You can review ongoing litigation updates in our guide on whether Flock cameras are legal.

What Not to Do

Never tamper with, physically damage, cover, or remove automated license plate reader hardware. Damaging, disabling or removing a camera yourself is illegal and undermines the campaign. Civic groups achieve permanent hardware removal through municipal votes, public record inquiries, and council oversight.

FAQ

Can a city cancel a Flock contract early?

Terms vary; check your city's contract. In Lynchburg, Virginia, the amended contract specified a $500 early-termination charge per device removed, while council members proposed termination with 30 days' notice.

Which cities have cancelled Flock?

Lynnwood, Washington voted 7-0 after reporting that out-of-state and federal agencies had searched its network for immigration enforcement, and Cortland, Ohio declined to renew its 10 cameras citing "a lack of funding." Asheville, North Carolina voted 5-2 to terminate its contract, and Harrisonburg, Virginia voted 4-0 to end its agreement. EFF also reports that Austin, Evanston, and Eugene canceled or refused to renew contracts.

What should I say at a city council meeting about Flock?

Present concrete facts from your town's own contract and audit logs: what it pays per camera, which outside agencies searched the data, and what sharing settings are on. You can also cite state laws or documented third-party findings from investigations conducted by 404 Media and EFF.

How do I get my city's Flock audit logs?

Submit a public records request to the agency that uses Flock asking for the organization, network, and portal audit logs; Have I Been Flocked says logs download in 31-day increments and replies take about 2 to 5 weeks.

Is it legal to remove a Flock camera myself?

No. Damaging, disabling or removing a camera yourself is illegal and undermines the campaign.

For additional strategies on organizing around algorithmic systems, visit our resource hub on fighting back against unwanted surveillance. To understand the operational scope of these systems, review our explainer on what Flock cameras are and what they capture or compare their capabilities in our guide on Flock cameras vs speed cameras.

To begin organizing in your community, identify the renewal deadline in your town's Flock contract and request the agency's audit logs from your local records custodian.

External sources for further verification and rights context:

• EFF Investigations Expose Flock Safety Surveillance Abuses
• ACLU Analysis of ALPR Vendors and Data Retention
• Have I Been Flocked Audit Log Guide
• Flock Safety Data Ownership and Privacy Terms