US cities cancel Flock surveillance camera contracts at record rate in August 2026

Local governments drop Flock cameras

Oakland-based advocacy group Secure Justice documented 214 US cities and counties that have terminated contracts with automated license-plate reader company Flock Safety since 2021. Cancellations accelerated in August 2026, with 90 local governments ending agreements during the month, representing a fourfold increase over July. Over the last 30 days, an average of three municipalities per day halted their relationships with the surveillance vendor. Across the first eight months of 2026, 165 localities withdrew from contracts, including Lansing, Michigan, and Pflugerville, Texas. Local officials cite growing concerns over expanding surveillance, cross-jurisdiction data sharing, recurring costs, and instances of police misuse. Secure Justice executive director Brian Hofer pointed to the rapid increase in contract terminations.

Looking at that image, it's gone parabolic!

Survey reveals growing public opposition

Opposition to automated plate readers extends across the public, according to a YouGov survey of 20,000 US adults. The survey showed that 46% of respondents oppose police license-plate cameras in their communities, compared to 38% who support them. This marks a reversal from the prior year, when a majority of surveyed Americans favoured the technology. In Centerton, Arkansas, city council members voted unanimously in August to terminate their Flock contract two years after initially approving it. Council member Justin Cowgur, who had previously supported the cameras to help an understaffed police force, cited concerns over the destination of municipal vehicle data.

Being a parent and having two girls, I wanted safety. But the way that the license plate readers have hit a lot of radars is very concerning. People want to have privacy in some way, and you don't want to feel like you're being watched.... Do we really know where our data is going?

Expansive data sharing and officer misuse

Flock operates more than 120,000 cameras installed across the United States since 2017. Public records from Alpharetta, Georgia, a city of 67,000 residents with 120 police officers, show its roadside cameras feed vehicle data to more than 2,000 external agencies across the country. Recipients include Morehouse College, Florida's Fish and Wildlife Commission, Medicare fraud investigators in Illinois, and a federal inspector general. In return, Alpharetta receives camera data from more than 1,300 organizations, with incoming sharing connections growing 125% and outgoing links growing 42% since June 2025. On August 5, 2026, an Alpharetta police officer resigned following an internal investigation into Flock technology misuse. Alpharetta exchanges data with other departments involved in misuse incidents, including the Dallas Police Department, the Savannah Police Department, and Georgia's Bibb County Sheriff's Department.

Policy changes and congressional investigation

Flock Safety spokesperson Courtney Terlecki stated that new city partnerships have outpaced contract nonrenewals by roughly 10 to one in 2026. The company maintains that its systems are used by more than 5,000 communities nationwide. In response to public criticism and an increase in camera vandalism, Flock chief executive Garrett Langley reduced default data retention periods from 30 days to seven days and called for a compromise on surveillance. Flock also modified its terms of service to prohibit users from using its platform to harass, stalk, or mislead individuals. Civil liberties groups such as the ACLU described the modifications as insufficient. In the US Senate, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, chairman of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on crime and counterterrorism, announced a federal investigation into Flock Safety.