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Santa Cruz council orders review of Flock Safety cameras after audit shows national-search exposure; community demands contract changes
Summary
After community advocates and the ACLU flagged system-wide data sharing, Police Chief Escalante told the council Flock Safety deactivated a national-search tool and tightened filters; Council member O'Hara said the city will pause statewide sharing and return Dec. 9 with proposed contract amendments and a full review.
Council members and dozens of residents pressed city officials on Nov. 18 over the city’s contract with Flock Safety, an automated license plate reader (ALPR) vendor, after an audit showed a national-search function in the vendor’s system had allowed cross‑jurisdictional searching that implicated California law.
Council member O’Hara opened the discussion, saying she had worked with staff and community members to respond to concerns and asking the police chief to brief the public. Police Chief Escalante told the council the city had been “recently made aware that Flock Safety identified violations” stemming from activation of a national search tool that allowed out‑of‑state agencies to search cameras that…
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