For it or against it: What Chandler residents think about Flock license plate reader cameras

Our Take

Credit to ABC15 Arizona and reporter Molly for getting out on the street and asking actual Chandler residents what they think instead of just running Flock's press kit. That's rarer than it should be in local TV coverage of ALPR contracts. The split reaction the piece captures is exactly what you'd expect: some people feel safer knowing cameras are logging every car that passes, others are uneasy about a private company building a searchable database of their daily movements without ever being asked.

Here's what matters: this is a contract renewal, which means the city already has a track record to point to. Did Flock cameras in Chandler actually solve the crimes they were installed to solve, or just generate a lot of hits that went nowhere? Did the police department publish any audit of who accessed the data and why? Those are the questions a one-week-out vote should be forcing into the open, not vibes from a sidewalk interview. If Chandler residents want to push back before the council votes, now is the moment — not after the contract is signed for another term.

Every one of these renewal fights follows the same script in city after city, and the cameras rarely get ripped out once they're bolted to a pole. Check our map to see if Flock is already running in your part of Arizona, and if you want to put pressure on your own council before a vote like this sneaks by, our take action page has the tools to do it.