Prescott Valley Special Town Meeting | 8.6.26 | Public Comment on Flock License Plate Readers

Our Take

Credit to Jen's Two Cents for recording this one, because public comment footage like this rarely makes it past the local news cycle, and it shouldn't disappear. Three residents — Laura Covell, Sheryl Gillum, and Greg Gillum — stood up in Prescott Valley to raise the same concerns we hear in town halls across the country: who's watching the watchers, where does the data go, and why did this rollout happen with so little public input in the first place.

The most telling moment isn't the public comment itself, it's what came after: Police Chief Robert L. Ticer announcing that a real update on the town's license plate reader program won't come until an October study session. That's the Flock playbook in miniature — deploy first, explain later, and hope the news cycle moves on before residents can organize. Meanwhile the council moved right on to routine business, opioid settlement checks, as if mass surveillance infrastructure is just another line item.

If you're in Yavapai County or anywhere else wondering whether these cameras have already shown up on your street, check our camera map before October rolls around. Showing up to that study session with facts in hand, instead of waiting for the town to frame the narrative, is how residents actually change outcomes. Our take-action resources can help you get ready.