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Residents urge Akron to end use of Flock 'ALPR' cameras, citing privacy and access concerns
Summary
Multiple public commenters told Akron City Council that Flock Safety automated-license-plate readers (ALPRs) threaten privacy, allow outside agency access, and should be removed; speakers asked council to end the city’s contract and align policy with prior council resolutions opposing forced cooperation with ICE.
Several public commenters used the council's public-comment period to urge Akron to end contracts with Flock Safety and remove automated-license-plate-reader (ALPR) cameras installed around the city.
Laura Hanselman told the council that ALPR systems are "invasive" and posed security risks, saying they are being used without residents’ consent and asserted outside access by agencies such as ICE. Kristen, speaking for Akron DSA, said citywide there are about 145 ALPR cameras and argued the system stores vehicle movements in the cloud for up to 30 days; she urged council to "immediately end its contract with Flock Safety and remove all flock owned recording devices used by the city." Those commenters linked the cameras to potential civil‑liberties violations and referenced Carpenter v. United States when describing expectations of privacy in movement data.
Speakers asked council to align city policy with a February 2026 resolution that opposed state bills they said would force municipal cooperation with ICE; commenters said opaque data practices and broad access present a backdoor to law-enforcement searches without local oversight. Council did not take immediate action on the camera contract at the meeting, but the public concern was entered into the record.
