Sedona council reviews license‑plate reader system as residents raise privacy concerns

Sedona city officials spent hours on a contentious discussion about automatic license plate readers installed around the city, after the police department presented how the system works and a Flock Safety representative answered technical and policy questions.

The presentation outlined the technology’s investigative uses and safeguards. “Flock does not own it. Flock does not sell data,” Trevor Chandler, director of public affairs for Flock, told the council, adding the company stores images in the AWS GovCloud and said the firm does not apply facial recognition.

Supporters and the department described multiple cases where ALPR hits reported by nearby agencies helped locate suspects or missing people. “This technology provides Sedona Police with a real‑time tool to identify and intercept these suspects before they can further victimize our residents and businesses,” Patrol Commander Chris Dahl said, listing examples of suicidal or violent suspects located after ALPR alerts from outside agencies.

But many residents urged the council to suspend use and reconsider the program, citing privacy, potential data sharing with federal authorities, and the lack of an earlier public process. “We should not become a data collection point for any government, present or future, that would use that information to erode privacy,” Randy Cruz told the council during public comment.

Why it matters

Council members and residents said the…