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Rohnert Park pauses expansion of Flock license‑plate readers, demands vendor briefing
Summary
After a two‑hour discussion and heavy public comment on privacy and data sharing, Rohnert Park council asked staff to pause further Flock camera installations and directed staff to bring a Flock representative back to the council, targeting a Jan. 27 briefing to answer technical and policy questions.
Rohnert Park — Council members on Dec. 2 directed staff to pause further installation of automated license‑plate readers (ALPRs) from vendor Flock and to secure a vendor briefing after a long presentation and public comment period about the cameras’ uses and data‑sharing practices.
Chief of Public Safety described the city’s experience with ALPRs, noting the county‑wide move to a common vendor to improve interoperability. He said ALPRs are deployed to help locate stolen vehicles, missing persons, and organized retail‑theft crews and gave examples where a camera hit led to a quick arrest.
“These cameras don’t prevent crime,” the chief told the council. “They are used to help solve the crimes.”
Public commenters pressed the council for more details about vendor access to data, retention policies, and whether information is shared with federal immigration authorities. Speakers cited court rulings on location‑tracking and asked how private companies handle stored plate images and who can access those records. Several residents urged that Flock itself appear before the council.
“Where we run into an issue…is how saturated our city is with this technology,” said Steve Keith, a resident who asked the council for a deeper review. Trevor Merrill said he “strongly oppose[d]” the cameras and argued they amount to mass surveillance.
City staff explained local policy limits: officers must record a case number and lawful purpose to query Flock, and the department performs monthly audits of access logs. Staff said Flock’s standard retention is 30 days, but the city’s policy currently retains city records for 365 days to meet transparency and record‑retention requirements; the city attorney said state law complicated those choices.
Council members asked staff to ask Flock to explain technical controls, the mechanics of data sharing and access, and whether the ‘national‑network’ configuration (reported in other jurisdictions) had ever been enabled for Rohnert Park. Staff agreed to try to get a Flock representative and to place the item on a January meeting agenda; council also directed staff to pause adding further cameras until the vendor briefing and legal review.
What’s next: Staff will attempt to schedule a Flock representative to appear for direct questions and will return with options on retention length, inter‑agency access and audit reports. The council suggested a target date of Jan. 27 for the vendor briefing and asked staff to halt any nonessential camera installations until that review is complete.
