Council members vote to terminate Flock contract in Stoughton

Our Take

Credit to Channel 3000 / News 3 Now for getting this on tape. A city council voting to terminate a Flock Safety contract isn't a headline that writes itself elsewhere — these votes often happen with little fanfare, buried in agenda items most residents never see coming. Stoughton's decision to walk away is exactly the kind of local accountability story that deserves more daylight, not less.

Every one of these terminations matters beyond the city limits. Flock's entire business model depends on normalizing ALPR networks as just another utility, like streetlights or trash pickup. When a council actually stops to ask whether they want a private company logging every car that passes through town, and decides no, it breaks that momentum. It also gives cover to neighboring towns wrestling with the same question, who can now point to Stoughton and say: this is possible, and it's not radical.

We don't yet know the full reasoning behind the vote, but the pattern nationwide is consistent — cost overruns, thin transparency, and a growing public unease about handing a private surveillance vendor a permanent record of where everyone drives. If you live in Wisconsin or anywhere else with Flock cameras nearby, check our map to see what's already watching your streets, and visit our take-action page if you want to push your own council toward the exit Stoughton just took.