Monona Police officials on Dec. 15 told the City Council the department has installed stationary license-plate reader cameras from Flock and is using the system as an investigative tool for stolen vehicles, missing-endangered alerts and interstate cases. Chief McMullen described a two-year service contract, three cameras currently operational with a fourth planned, and said the system is query-based rather than live video.

The chief said the department uses Flock only for law-enforcement purposes and that the city retains control over who can access its data and which outside agencies are permitted. "They do not have access to personally identifiable information," he said, and added the company retains images for 30 days unless a report is generated and retained under different rules. He also told council the system does not perform facial recognition and that Flock captures still images of vehicles rather than continuous video.

A family member who testified, Michael Kasuba, told the council his adult disabled son was abducted a year earlier and that police used plate hits in Flock to trace the suspect’s vehicle to another city, which led to coordination with Dayton, Ohio, police and recovery of the son within days. "Without Flock, we wouldn't have been able to do what happened there," Kasuba said.

Detective Sergeant Lasby and other officers gave multiple local and regional examples in which the system helped recover stolen cars, assisted hit‑and‑run and death investigations, and strengthened stalking and fraud cases by supplying location leads. Officers emphasized that when a plate read is returned they verify registration and visual matches before taking enforcement steps.

Council members asked about privacy limits, search reasons and interagency sharing. Councilmember questions prompted staff to explain that Flock's forthcoming dropdown menu for search reasons will not include immigration or reproductive-health categories and that the city has an audit trail to review who queried the system and why. The chief said Monona shares access reciprocally with partner agencies but can revoke a connection if misuse is found. He noted that two federal agencies — the National Park Service and United States Postal Service inspectors — currently have access through Flock contracts in limited, described circumstances.

City staff and councilmembers also discussed how the installation differs from prior mobile license-plate readers placed on squad cars. The chief said Monona switched from mobile readers to fixed cameras because officers were not routinely able to operate the mobile system in patrol vehicles and because the stationary readers preserve privacy by not scanning every driveway visited by an officer.

The presentation concluded with staff describing plans for a public transparency portal (similar to examples in nearby communities), and an internal ability to audit queries and restrict outside access if necessary. Council thanked presenters and moved on to regular agenda business.