Chandler residents demand ban on ALPR technology

Our Take

Credit to 12 News for covering this — because stories like Chandler's are exactly how these fights get won or lost. It takes one officer misusing an ALPR system, one resident connecting the dots, and a room full of people showing up to a council meeting to actually slow this technology down. That's the pattern we've seen play out in cities across the country: quiet rollout, quiet abuse, then a very loud reckoning once people realize their movements have been logged for months without their knowledge or consent.

What makes Chandler notable isn't the misuse itself — misuse is basically guaranteed with any system that gives officers standing access to a searchable database of everyone's comings and goings. What matters is that residents aren't asking for a policy tweak or an audit. They're asking for a ban. That's the correct instinct. Flock and similar ALPR networks were sold to city councils as tools for solving specific crimes, but in practice they become permanent, low-oversight surveillance infrastructure that outlives whatever justification got it approved in the first place.

If you're in Chandler or anywhere else wondering whether your own city has quietly wired itself up with these cameras, check our map to see what's already been deployed near you. And if your city council hasn't heard from you yet, our take-action page has what you need to make sure they do.