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Appleton committee hears Flock Safety license-plate reader briefing as residents press privacy, sharing and audit questions
Summary
Police and a Flock Safety representative told the Safety & Licensing Committee that ALPRs have aided investigations and that city-owned data is controlled by Appleton; residents pressed the department and vendor on misuse, cross-agency access and auditing after a recent officer misuse case elsewhere.
CAPTION: Safety & Licensing Committee meeting, Jan. 28, 2026. APD presentation on Flock Safety ALPR system.
The Safety & Licensing Committee on Jan. 28 heard a detailed presentation from Appleton Police on its use of Flock Safety automated license-plate readers and fielded more than an hour of public questions and concerns about privacy, cross-agency data sharing and safeguards after a widely reported misuse case.
The presentation was led by Patrol Captain Mike Wallace, who said the department first tested the system in a 2022–23 pilot and currently operates 20 cameras (19 fixed, one mobile). Wallace said investigators logged 183 "verified successes" in the pilot — including 30 recovered stolen vehicles, 30 hit-and-run case leads, 22 retail-theft cases and five domestic-violence-related arrests — and credited the cameras with speeding identification of suspect vehicles and reducing hours of manual video review.
"In my 21 years of law enforcement experience, this has easily been one of the most impactful tools we've acquired," Wallace said, attributing faster case clearance and more reliable photographic…
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