Resident urges board to require governance for Flock license-plate readers

A resident urged the Union County Board of Commissioners on March 16 to act on governance and oversight for the county’s Flock license-plate readers, saying the program expanded well beyond the original purchase and that statutory safeguards must be enforced.

Mark Russell identified himself as a Union County resident of Weddington and told the board the county has operated a Flock public surveillance network that captures pictures of vehicles and license plates since April 2022. Russell said the initial contract was entered into by the county manager on behalf of the sheriff’s office and was not voted on by the board; subsequent expansions, he said, appeared on consent reports and not for public deliberation.

Russell told commissioners that the program has grown “to 10 times its original cost” and that as of December 2025 it was “going to cost over $288,000.” He said recent expansions added a person-of-interest database, live video feeds on main roads and a real-time crime center. Citing the transcripted language, Russell referenced “North Carolina General Statute Section 21 183.3, Article 3 d,” and said state law requires a law enforcement agency using an ALPR system to adopt a written governance policy before operation. He asked the board to do three things: direct the sheriff’s office to adopt a written policy within 90 days if none exists; require the state-mandated annual effectiveness audit before any future funding for the program; and place future ALPR contract actions on the business agenda rather than the consent agenda so the public can deliberate on surveillance governance.

The chair thanked Russell; no formal board action on the matter was recorded in the meeting minutes. Russell said he had provided the clerk a one-page summary of statutory requirements, the Flock deployment timeline for Union County and his requests to the board.