Discussion over possible Flock camera ban in Tempe continues
The short version: Tempe's city council is listening to residents push back on Flock ALPRs, and local pressure like this is exactly how bans actually happen.
Our Take
Credit to 12 News for staying on this story as Tempe weighs whether to show Flock Safety's license plate readers the door. This is what accountability looks like in practice: not a press release, but weeks of council members actually having to sit and listen to constituents who don't want their daily movements logged by a private surveillance vendor.
We say it often because it's true — these cameras rarely get removed because a company or police department has a change of heart. They get removed because regular people show up to council meetings, ask hard questions about data retention and audit logs, and refuse to accept vague answers about who else can access the footage. Tempe's debate is a reminder that the fight against mass ALPR surveillance is won city by city, meeting by meeting.
If you're in Tempe or anywhere else wondering whether Flock is already watching your street, check our camera map to see what's been documented near you, and if you want to push back the way Tempe residents are doing right now, our take-action page has the tools to get started.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of 12 News, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.