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Bloomington chief says Flock contracts ending; residents press for full disconnection and transparency
Summary
Police Chief Mike Deoff told the council the department will end its license-plate-reader (LPR) contract this week and has turned off sharing, citing crime-solving successes and controls. Dozens of residents urged immediate disconnection, greater transparency and a halt to new mass‑surveillance contracts.
Police Chief Mike Deoff briefed the Bloomington Common Council on April 22 about the department’s recent use of Flock Safety license‑plate readers and related cameras and said the LPR contract will expire at the end of the weekend. Deoff described the department’s LPR deployment — 11 permanent LPR cameras on major roadways, four permanently mounted downtown video cameras, and four mobile trailers — and said the department enforces usage rules: only sworn officers and analysts may query the system, searches must be tied to an active case or event number, audits occur every 60 days, and data are retained 30 days unless entered as evidence. He said Bloomington “does not participate in the national Flock network” and that the city controls data access.
Deoff cited multiple recent cases in which LPR…
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