Oshkosh officials pledge oversight, pause before picking a new ALPR vendor as police detail pub-crawl violence

Residents and public-safety officials at the Oshkosh Common Council meeting on June 16 urged a pause and formal oversight before the city moves forward with any new automatic license-plate-reader (ALPR) vendor.

Speakers from the public — including Tanner Mann and Emmy Carrick — told the council they have drafted an ordinance and plan for a resident-led commission to evaluate surveillance technology and guardrails. Mann said residents had emailed the council a comprehensive ordinance template and asked for resident membership on any advisory body. "We want to be involved in this process," Mann said, urging transparency after earlier concerns with the vendor Flock.

Chief of Police provided a detailed update on ALPR work and public safety. He said the department is actively identifying alternative ALPR vendors and intends to stand up an Oshkosh Police Advisory Committee to advise on security and operational practices. "The committee draft makeup will consist of an independent cybersecurity company contracted by the city to chair the committee, city IT, police representation, a resident concerned with ALPR, and a resident who supports ALPR," the chief said, adding the committee will produce recommendations staff will use to vet vendors.

Council members and speakers pressed for policy as well as technical review. Emmy Carrick said she was "concerned that we're considering a new vendor when we've not made progress on creating the resident-led commission" and urged the council to adopt standards for evaluation and oversight before engaging new vendors.

The chief also framed ALPR work inside broader public-safety needs. He presented a separate operational briefing on the April "Buck Crawl" — an unsanctioned, large-crowd event — that required a multiagency response and significant overtime. The department recorded 65 calls for service, 10 people jailed, 41 citations issued, 73 underage contacts and one firearm recovered; combined staffing costs for responding agencies totaled roughly $44,661, the chief said. He noted only 14% of enforcement contacts related to UW Oshkosh students, and said the event draws participants from across the state.

Council members asked for timelines and transparency about next steps. The chief said he must first identify an independent cybersecurity firm to chair the advisory committee; once the committee's recommendations are assembled the department will return to the council with a vendor-evaluation pathway and proposed oversight elements. "We're going to keep on working on it," he said. "We're trying to be very broad in what we do, and then bring it all into focus as an end product."

The council did not vote on ALPR procurement at the meeting. Several public speakers urged that any vendor decision be deferred until the advisory committee or an ordinance is in place.