Residents urge council to reconsider widespread ALPR use and demand security audit of Flock cameras

Two residents used the citizens’ portion of the meeting to urge caution about the expanding deployment of automated license-plate reader (ALPR) cameras in the area and to call for independent security review of vendor Flock Safety.

Ivan Swarchek said the cameras collect more than plate numbers and argued the systems catalog images and other personal details, framing the rollout as a widespread surveillance program and citing court precedent about privacy: "the Flock safety ALPR cameras that are being installed everywhere are significantly more than just automated license plate readers," he said, adding that the tracking “is at odds with our national and state values of independence and freedom” and referencing Jones and Carpenter in support of his concerns. John Hamilton described published cybersecurity research alleging multiple vulnerabilities in Flock hardware and urged the city to require a third-party security audit before relying on that vendor’s systems. Hamilton said the vulnerabilities could undermine the evidentiary chain and urged stronger vendor accountability: "I urge you to demand an independent 3rd party security audit," he said.

Council heard the comments at the end of the meeting; no formal council action on ALPR policy or procurement was recorded during the session. Both public commenters asked the council to reconsider or to require additional safeguards before further deployment.