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The city of Folsom plans to discontinue its use of Flock license plate-reading cameras, two City Council members told The Sacramento Bee on Monday.
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Police Chief Adam Green made the decision, Councilmember Sarah Aquino said following a forum held by the League of Women Voters. Green is reviewing and updating the Police Department’s policies after being appointed chief late last year, she said.
Green will present more information about the change to the City Council “in the next month or so,” according to Aquino.
“We are in the process at the city of discontinuing our use of Flock cameras specifically,” Councilmember Mike Kozlowski said during the forum.
Kozlowski said the city would continue to use cameras with other license plate-reading technology, including Motorola cameras already in use, like the ones employed in the city of Sacramento.
“The attention that Flock has gotten itself has put everybody off,” Kozlowski said after the forum. “There’s just no reason for us to take unnecessary risks.”
Kozlowski said the city wants to ensure that data gathered from license plate readers can only be accessed by the Folsom Police Department and its partner agencies.
“We’ve never had ours set up where anybody can get at it,” he said. “But there’s enough safety concern about Flock specifically (to discontinue its use).”
A spokesperson for the city confirmed that the Police Department was “reviewing” its contract with Flock but could not offer additional details.
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Folsom has 17 Flock license plate readers installed around the city, according to Aquino. The city also has 27 Motorola cameras, she said.
License plate-reading cameras have drawn scrutiny nationwide, including in the Sacramento region, as residents raise concerns about surveillance, privacy and the ability of systems using artificial intelligence to track vehicles’ movements.
The Grass Valley Police Department indefinitely suspended its use of Flock cameras after complaints from residents. Two of Folsom’s Flock cameras were damaged in August.
Lindsey Halsell, a volunteer with the activist group DeFlock Sac Metro, raised concerns around surveillance and privacy in August. She said the cameras’ AI-enhanced capabilities were ripe for misuse.
“They’re effectively putting all of us under surveillance as suspects for crimes because they’re not issuing warrants, they’re not stating charges,” she said. “People should have a right to go about their lives without being constantly watched.”
The city of Folsom first contracted with Flock in March 2023, according to a copy of the contract provided to The Bee by DeFlock Sac Metro. The activist group said it obtained the document through a public records request.
The $76,400 contract included 12 Flock cameras, access to the company’s AI-powered advanced search software and extended data storage for two years. It included a two-year renewal term with an annual recurring cost of $36,100.
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