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Grass Valley residents press council to end Flock Safety ALPR use; police schedule community meeting
Summary
Dozens of public commenters urged Grass Valley to terminate its license-plate reader contract with Flock Safety, citing audit-log analyses and alleged out-of-jurisdiction access; police announced a community meeting for June 10 to present logs and answer questions.
During multiple public-comment slots, residents urged the Grass Valley City Council to end the city's participation in a network of automated license-plate readers (ALPRs) operated through private vendor Flock Safety and accessed through audit logs. Speakers cited a public-records analysis they said shows millions of searches, thousands of entries with blank or inadequate justification fields, and instances of external access by out-of-state and federal agencies.
Lindseay Nielsen, a Grass Valley resident, said a records request covering March 2023 through November 2025 showed "3.9 million individual search queries... by 357 outside organizations," including searches naming immigration-enforcement agencies, and nearly 24,000 searches without stated purpose, which she said may conflict with California Civil Code requirements (commenter cited sections 1798.90.55 and 1798.90.53).
Other speakers described personal discomfort with ubiquitous camera coverage, alleged misuse in other jurisdictions, and called the technology unconstitutional or prone to mission creep. Multiple commenters asked the council to cancel the city's contract; some referenced other jurisdictions that have ended their contracts.
Deputy Chief Steve Johnson announced that the police department will host a public discussion of ALPR usage, audit logs, and access controls on June 10, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Love Building in Condan Park. Johnson said the department aims to present existing records it has provided in response to prior public-records requests and to answer community questions. He emphasized the department's stated commitment to transparency and said staff would follow up on questions that require additional research.
Council did not take an immediate policy vote on the ALPR system during the meeting; numerous callers requested a quicker agenda process and urged council to place cancellation or policy-change options on a future agenda.
