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Residents press council for information session on Flock Safety license‑plate readers; mayor defends current use
Summary
Multiple residents urged Lafayette officials to review and possibly pause or explain the city’s contract with Flock Safety license‑plate readers amid allegations of cybersecurity vulnerabilities, misuse and surveillance of protesters; the mayor outlined how the city and police use the cameras and said data are encrypted and retained for 30 days unless retained for an investigation.
During the public‑comment period several Lafayette residents raised concerns about the city’s contract with Flock Safety automated license‑plate readers (LPRs). Kenny (speaker 16) told the council he was worried about reported cybersecurity vulnerabilities, alleged high error rates in other jurisdictions, and instances of misuse leading to stalking or wrongful stops. Susan Schechter (speaker 21) asked who stores community location data, how long it is retained, and whether city tax dollars support data collection that could be used without warrants; she asked the city to hold an information session on the contract and data use.
Mayor (speaker 6) responded with an overview of the city’s practices: he said Lafayette and partner agencies (including West Lafayette, Purdue and Tippecanoe County) use LPRs for stolen‑vehicle, missing‑person and violent‑crime investigations; the mayor said the cameras record license plate, vehicle make/model/color, date/time and camera location, the city owns the data, it is encrypted, and non‑retained data are deleted after 30 days. He said searches are logged and access is limited to law enforcement and that the city’s IT review found the vendor met standards in publicly available materials. Residents asked for further outreach and an information session; no formal policy action was taken at the meeting.
