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Residents urge Ridgecrest to suspend Flock surveillance contract, citing misuse in other cities
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Summary
Public commenters told the council the city's Flock license-plate reader system poses privacy risks; speakers cited recent contract terminations in other jurisdictions and urged written guarantees that data will not be sold and technical limits on sharing.
Several Ridgecrest residents used the public-comment period Thursday to urge the council to suspend or terminate its contract with Flock, the license-plate reader vendor the city uses for vehicle surveillance.
Michael Citra told the council that the company’s database “is a stalker’s dream,” saying the system records residents’ vehicle locations en masse and that the data is accessible to many accounts. “The only way to keep us safe from these abuses is to remove this technology from our streets,” he said.
Jamie Jones summarized recent developments in other jurisdictions and changes in Flock’s contract terms, telling the council that several cities have moved to terminate or transition away from Flock. Jones urged the city attorney to determine whether the city can prevent the vendor from monetizing residents’ movement data under the vendor’s revised terms and recommended a written no-sale guarantee and a technical ban on out-of-state ‘‘side-door’’ sharing while the council reviews the contract.
City staff acknowledged the concerns and said the mayor planned to meet with the city attorney and the police chief to review contract sections and risk management. The council did not take immediate action on the Flock contract during the meeting but heard multiple requests from the public for stronger privacy safeguards.
