Residents urge Des Moines council to disable Flock Safety cameras, citing privacy and immigration concerns

Dozens of public commenters told the Des Moines City Council on June 25 that the city should stop using Flock Safety automated license‑plate readers (ALPRs), pressing for immediate steps such as installing physical hoods and terminating the contract.

The push came during the public‑comment portion of the council meeting, where several residents recounted downloading the city's Flock portal and finding what they described as incomplete transparency. "Fifty percent of the searches had no reason listed," said Melissa Fchetti, a De Moines resident, adding that 17 searches were labeled as sex offenses with no case numbers provided. "We don't know how many were side‑door searches or personal vendettas," she said, referring to requests sent to third parties that circumvent direct federal access rules.

Why it matters: speakers argued that ALPR data can be repurposed to track immigrants, people seeking health care or other vulnerable groups, and that weak recordkeeping undermines public trust. Judy Grandandy told the council she found 247,515 vehicle detections in the last 30 days on the portal and said the city pays about $2,400 annually per camera. Several commenters cited national reporting and audits alleging back‑door data access by federal agencies and asked the council to move faster than the state's statutory 180‑day compliance window.

Pam Cooper, another speaker, framed the issue as a civil‑liberties question: "For people who want to give up freedom for security, they will have neither," she said, urging the council to remove the cameras.

Speakers pressed several specific demands: require case numbers for every search record, publish fuller search logs (commenters said portal entries appear to be a partial sample), physically hood cameras near sensitive sites, and—if safeguards cannot be guaranteed—terminate the city's contract with Flock Safety.

What staff and council did: the meeting record shows the council accepted public comment but did not take an immediate legislative action to alter the city's ALPR contract that night. Several council members and staff later addressed other agenda items (financial reports, strategic plan and speed‑camera ordinance). No vote or formal referral on Flock Safety termination appears in the June 25 minutes.

The meeting record includes multiple community requests for a staff report or agenda item that would clarify the portal data, explain how the city controls access and whether case numbers can be required; the council may decide next steps in a future meeting.