Why Tempe could ban automated license plate readers
The short version: Tempe may become Arizona's first city to permanently ban ALPRs by law, not just by canceling a Flock contract.
Our Take
Credit to Zach Prelutsky and Arizona's Family for covering a story that deserves more attention nationwide: a city council member in Tempe wants to take the win of ending a Flock contract and actually lock it into city code. That distinction matters enormously. Contracts expire, get renewed, or get quietly re-signed by a future council when the news cameras move on. An ordinance is a much higher bar to clear, and it's exactly the kind of durable policy that privacy advocates should be pushing for in every city that's had a change of heart about mass license plate surveillance.
Tempe's original decision to ditch Flock over misuse concerns wasn't an isolated judgment call — it reflects a pattern we've documented repeatedly: these networks get used for far more than their advertised purpose, departments share data across jurisdictional and even state lines, and the guardrails that vendors promise rarely survive contact with how police actually use the tool. Turning that lesson into a binding ban now, and for the future, is how a city makes sure the next administration or the next sales pitch doesn't quietly reopen the door.
If you want to see whether ALPRs are already watching your own streets, check our camera map, and if you'd like to push your city toward a Tempe-style ban instead of just a contract cancellation, 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 Arizona’s Family (3TV / CBS 5), published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.