Full interview: Racine terminating Flock contract, mayor explains | FOX6 News Milwaukee

Our Take

FOX6 News Milwaukee sat down with Racine Mayor Cory Mason after he cast the deciding vote to terminate the city's Flock Safety contract within 30 days. That's newsworthy on its own: most city councils rubber-stamp these renewals without a second thought, and here you have an elected official willing to go on camera and explain why he pulled the plug.

We don't know yet exactly what tipped the scales for Mason — cost, data retention concerns, lack of demonstrated crime-reduction results, or just plain buyer's remorse — and we won't guess. What matters is that Racine joins a small but growing list of towns that looked at the ALPR pitch, ran the numbers or asked the hard questions, and decided the surveillance wasn't worth what it cost residents in privacy. That's a template other city councils should be paying attention to.

If you live somewhere Flock cameras are already up, or your council is about to vote on a contract, don't wait for a mayor to do the work for you. Check our camera map to see what's already tracking plates near you, and head to our take-action page for tools to push your own local government toward a Racine-style reversal.