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Residents urge Iowa City to review University Flock camera agreement
Summary
Two Iowa City residents told council the 2023 agreement allowing University of Iowa Police Department Flock license-plate readers in city right-of-way lacks transparency and may enable broad data sharing; they urged council to place the agreement on a future agenda and consider terminating it.
During the Jan. 20 community comment period, residents raised privacy and transparency concerns about an agreement that allows the University of Iowa Police Department to operate Flock automatic license-plate readers (ALPRs) on city right-of-way.
Sydney Ullman said she understands the agreement took effect in 2023 and called it indefinite; she said the city can order removal of the cameras by written notice, and she urged the council to bring the agreement back for review because ‘‘there’s a lot of confusion around the city's agreement with the university.’’ Ullman said the university’s Flock deployment amounts to 22 cameras in Iowa City and that the University of Iowa’s data-sharing practices involve ‘‘almost 1,500 other entities’’ listed on Flock’s transparency site.
Abby Banks echoed those concerns, saying the city ordinance (she cited "Section 9-11") ‘‘expressly outlaws the presence of automatic license plate readers,’’ and called the university agreement ‘‘performative and disingenuous at best and deceitful at worst.’’ Banks urged the council to terminate the agreement, pointed to the 10-day removal term in the contract, and said the university’s contract grants access to hundreds or thousands of entities nationwide.
Mayor Bruce Teague closed community comment after the two speakers. The council did not take action on the agreement during the meeting; speakers requested the item be placed on a future agenda.
