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Springfield council approves Flock ALPR renewal with new reporting and breach-notification rules
Summary
The Springfield City Council on July 7 approved a two-year renewal of the city’s automatic license-plate reader (ALPR) contract with Flock, adopting an amendment requiring annual reporting, limits on loosening policies without council approval, and an internal breach-notification process routed through city legal.
The Springfield City Council voted July 7 to adopt Ordinance 2026-315, authorizing continued use of automatic license-plate readers (ALPRs) from Flock Group Inc. and adding local requirements for reporting and breach notification.
Mayor Misty Buscher opened the discussion after the council placed the ordinance before the chamber. Alderman Gregory introduced an amendment that would codify existing ALPR policies, require annual reporting to the council on deployment and effectiveness, and require notification to corporation counsel and the mayor when potential misuse or security incidents are discovered. “This is saying, hey — just give us a report,” Alderman Gregory said, describing requests for data on stolen-vehicle recoveries, violent-felony investigations aided by ALPRs and records of alleged misuse.
Deputy Chief Dodd, representing the Springfield Police Department, told the council the city’s Flock deployment is set up to prioritize rear-license-plate captures, retains raw images for 30 days by default, and moves evidence tied to a case into the department’s CJIS-compliant evidence vault. Dodd said the department can restrict which outside agencies may search its Flock array and that Springfield has turned off nationwide sharing. He said the department and vendor limit access and maintain an audit trail showing the officer, reason for the search and associated case number.
Corporation Counsel Mordock recommended that initial notifications of incidents come from his office so attorney-client privilege and legal review could be preserved. The council revised the amendment to require that either the police department or corporation counsel notify city leadership within 24 hours of discovery and that corporation counsel coordinate executive-session follow-up within seven calendar days, consistent with union and contractual obligations.
Public commenters expressed strong privacy concerns about Flock as a company. Aaron Kirkpatrick and other residents cited reports about widespread third-party access in other jurisdictions and urged stronger oversight. Michael Shadow and other citizens suggested removing the vendor rather than renewing the contract.
Despite concerns, several aldermen said the amended requirements — which include a provision allowing the police department to tighten internal operating procedures but not loosen minimum protections without council approval — were sufficient to support continued use of the system. The ordinance passed by voice vote as amended, with nine voting yes and none opposed.
The council’s action directs city staff and legal counsel to formalize the reporting template and timelines and to return with any contract-clarifying language. The council did not change the vendor’s retention policy (Flock’s 30-day deletion), which council members said is a contractual constraint they sought to mitigate through oversight and contractual remedies.
The council’s approval preserves the existing ALPR deployment while adding transparency and legal notifications; aldermen said they expect follow-up reporting and potential further refinement of the ordinance language.
