Resident raises cybersecurity and civil‑liberties concerns about city’s ALPR system

At the March 17 Safety Committee meeting, resident Lex Perkins urged council to reconsider the city’s contract with Flock Safety, the vendor that provides automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, citing cybersecurity vulnerabilities and examples of misuse documented by civil‑liberties groups and news reports.

Perkins, who said he works in information technology, told the committee the cameras have known security issues and can be accessed through unsecured Bluetooth pairings that allow remote modification of footage. He said the vendor markets vehicle “fingerprints” that can track make, model, damage and—Perkins said—occupants, and he recounted incidents where ALPR data was used to stalk or misidentify drivers.

Perkins also questioned retention and search practices, saying the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others found data retained longer than vendor-stated windows and that searches across a nationwide network have generated racialized queries in some agencies. He asked whether the city had assessed the cybersecurity and civil‑liberties tradeoffs before proceeding with the system.

What the committee heard: Perkins cited cases in other jurisdictions where ALPR data was used inappropriately and incidents in which misidentifications led to armed responses; he asked the committee to evaluate the contract considering both security flaws and privacy harms. No formal review or contract action was taken during the meeting.

Next step: Committee members may request staff review of contract terms, security audits or policy restrictions if they decide to pursue further action.