"We're getting those cameras the Flock out of here": City makes decision on license plate readers

Our Take

Credit to WLUK-TV FOX 11 for capturing the moment a city council actually listened to its residents instead of a sales pitch from Flock Safety. Menominee's decision to say "get those cameras out of here" is a reminder that these contracts aren't inevitable — they're votes, budgets, and public comment periods, all of which ordinary people can show up to and influence.

What makes this story matter beyond one small Michigan city is the pattern it bucks. Town after town gets pitched the same promises — "it's just for stolen cars," "it's not real-time tracking" — and too often councils rubber-stamp it without asking who else gets access to that data, how long it's stored, or what happens when ICE, bounty hunters, or a neighboring county comes calling. Menominee's pushback suggests residents are starting to ask those harder questions before the cameras go up, not after.

If you want to know whether your own city or county already has Flock gear installed, check our camera map — and if you'd rather your town look more like Menominee than the alternative, our take-action resources walk you through how to raise this at your next council meeting.