Flock Safety Automated License Plate Reader Presentation | Work Session - May 15, 2023
The short version: A 2023 Dubuque City Council work session shows the standard Flock Safety pitch playing out in yet another mid-size American city, with minimal pushback.
Our Take
Credit to the City of Dubuque Government channel for actually posting this work session in full, because that's exactly the kind of primary-source footage that lets the public see how these decisions get made before the cameras go up. What usually happens in these sessions is a polished Flock Safety sales presentation heavy on "stolen vehicle recovery" anecdotes and light on any serious discussion of data retention, third-party access, or how easily license plate data can be used for purposes that have nothing to do with the original pitch.
Dubuque is not unique here. This is the same script that's played out in city council chambers across the country: a vendor demo, a few nodding heads, maybe one skeptical question about cost, and then a vote to move forward with a surveillance network that quietly logs every vehicle passing through town, whether or not anyone in that car is suspected of anything. Once that infrastructure exists, it rarely stays contained to the narrow use case pitched in the sales deck.
If you want to know whether Dubuque or a city near you already has these cameras running, check our map. And if your local council is about to sit through the same presentation, our take-action page has what you need to show up and ask the questions that didn't get asked here.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of City of Dubuque Government, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.