For over a year, cameras deployed across Santa Cruz County have scanned thousands of license plates. According to the city council, eight devices called Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) were added to the streets of Santa Cruz, providing police with the service of a 24-hour watchdog.

Recent claims ICE has accessed recent footage from Flock, a security hardware company, has left many residents concerned about potential misuse of their data. 

Santa Cruz residents gathered at City Hall on Jan. 13 to voice their concerns about the potential misuse of ALPR. A motion was proposed by Council member Susie O’Hara, representative for Santa Cruz District Five, to remove Flock cameras from the city of Santa Cruz. After three hours of deliberation and resident speeches, Santa Cruz’s contract with Flock was terminated by a 6-1 majority vote.

One group that is speaking out against the devices, called Get the Flock Out, attended the recent city council meeting. Based in Santa Cruz, they believe that Flock’s terms do not align with the county’s safety regulations.

“Flock is a company that’s been putting cameras in communities all over the country, and they’re collecting data that infringes on our Fourth Amendment rights and puts vulnerable people in danger,” said Jill Clifton, a representative for Get the Flock Out, in a public comment to city council.

[Left] Council member Sonja Brunner (District 2), the only member to vote in favor of keeping the Flock contract, presents an alternative motion that would renew Santa Cruz’s contract with Flock and add additional regulatory restrictions. 

Flock cameras are multi-use, attachable ALPR tools that photograph license plates of vehicles passing by, helping law enforcement track down vehicles associated with traffic violations or criminal offenses. 

However, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) alleges that “Flock’s default agreement with police departments gives the company the right to share data with federal and local agencies for ‘investigative purposes’ even if a local department chooses to restrict data to its own officers.” 

Several public comments implied that Flock Security, the company that stores the data from all of the ALPRs in Santa Cruz, is built on weak infrastructure. 

In 2024, Flock piloted software that could potentially allow external agencies to sift through footage picked up by their cameras. Flock CEO Garrett Langley denies sending information to unauthorized sources, claiming those who critique the program are looking to “normalize lawlessness.” 

However, even if the corporation does not directly share data with federal agencies, Flock’s evidence policy states that government, law enforcement and private customers are able to request footage acquired by Flock ALPRs. 

“Misuse of this data is rampant,” said Clifton, “[Dangers] include tracking people for personal purposes, following people who had abortions, accusing innocent people of crimes, raiding the wrong houses, stalking women, and illegally giving information to federal agencies like ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.” 

A community member expresses support for the termination of Santa Cruz City’s contract with Flock during the public comment period.

Since March 2024, the city of Santa Cruz has installed 14 ALPR cameras. For the past two years, cameras have monitored unassuming residents.

This footage was originally intended strictly for police use as an investigative tool meant to solve time-sensitive crimes like kidnappings, vehicular manslaughter, grand theft auto or missing persons reports. 

Joshua Trog, a sergeant for the Santa Cruz Police Department, believes that the removal of these cameras will set the police department back. 

“The loss of this tool would be a significant step backward,” Trog expressed in a public comment. “It would reduce investigative efficiency and slow response in time-sensitive situations, and make it more difficult to resolve cases accurately and responsibly.” 

But for many residents, privacy is paramount to feeling safe. As a result, residents voiced their concerns on the untrustworthy nature of Flock and how the data could be mishandled. Many of these concerns regarded cyber security in particular.

“I’ve been specializing in security aspects of the iPhone and other products, including watches and tablets,” said Santa Cruz resident and Apple software engineer Sean Doherty in a public comment. “There are a couple of other companies who are following these practices, but I wanna make it clear that Flock is not [one of them].” 

Doherty, among others, is concerned with breaches in both Flock’s database and the hackable design of ALPR systems. Many urged Santa Cruz to cease their partnership with Flock and reject any future installations of ALPR programs. 

This request did not go unheard. During Tuesday’s City Hall meeting, Mayor Fred Keeley expressed that the city of Santa Cruz will not replace Flock with a different ALPR platform any time soon. 

“I will probably vote against [a new ALPR contract] if it ever arrives here during my remaining time as mayor on the city council,” Keeley said in the meeting.

Santa Cruz is the first city in California to remove these cameras.

Neighboring cities have yet to follow the decision to ban Flock. Ten of the company’s cameras remain in Capitola and 37 remain in Watsonville.