Farmington Police Department may end Flock Safety contract

Our Take

Credit to 5NEWS for getting a police department on record saying what a lot of departments won't: Flock's system threw false stolen-plate alerts and the agency itself found its access to the information restricted. That's a remarkable admission from the customer, not the critic. When the people paying for a surveillance network say they can't fully see or trust what it's doing, that's not a minor glitch — that's the whole pitch falling apart.

Flock has built its brand on being indispensable to public safety, but false positives aren't a rounding error. Every bad alert sends an officer into a stop expecting a stolen vehicle or a wanted plate, raising the stakes for everyone involved for no good reason. And "restricted access to information" is the part that should worry taxpayers most — if the agency funding the cameras doesn't have full visibility into how the system works or what it's collecting, who does? Flock, mostly.

Farmington may walk away from this contract, but hundreds of other towns haven't asked these questions yet. Check our camera map to see what's already watching your plates, and if your city hasn't had this conversation, our take-action page has what you need to start it.