Commerce City council approves expansion of Flock Safety contract amid privacy concerns

Commerce City council voted to introduce an ordinance to expand the city’s contract with Flock Safety and to amend the 2026 budget to fund the expansion, following an extended public conversation about privacy, data sharing and public‑safety benefits.

The council’s action on ordinance 27‑55, to approve a long‑term lease and operating license for license‑plate readers, drones and other equipment, passed on first reading by a 6–3 recorded vote; a separate ordinance, 27‑56, to recognize $608,900 of additional 2026 funding for the expansion also passed 6–3. Both measures were introduced and approved on first reading; further steps and final approvals will follow the ordinance process.

Why it mattered: City staff and police officials presented data from a pilot area where the existing Flock system operated from July 2024 through June 2025, saying recoveries of stolen vehicles were concentrated inside the core 3.5‑square‑mile area covered by license‑plate readers and gunshot detection. “Of the 426 recovered stolen vehicles in the city, over half — 53.7% or 229 — were recovered in the area where we had Flock LPR and gunshot detection,” the police chief said during the presentation. Staff framed expansion as adding coverage across a…