Menasha Common Council votes in favor of terminating contract with Flock Safety

Our Take

Credit to NBC 26 for covering a story that too often gets ignored: a city council actually voting to rip out Flock Safety cameras instead of just rubber-stamping another renewal. Menasha's decision shows that the supposed inevitability of ALPR surveillance isn't real. These contracts get approved in quiet committee meetings all the time, but they can just as easily get killed when residents and council members start asking who actually has access to the data, how long it's retained, and what it's really bought the city in terms of safety versus a permanent record of everyone's movements.

What makes Menasha notable is that it didn't take a scandal or a data breach to prompt the vote — just council members willing to reconsider a deal once the novelty wore off and the actual tradeoffs came into focus. That's the model other towns should be following instead of treating Flock's sales pitch as the final word. If you want to see whether your own city or county has signed on, check our camera map to find out what's already watching your plates.

Every contract termination is proof that these systems are not permanent fixtures once installed — they're policy choices that can be reversed by ordinary political pressure. If your town is up for a renewal vote or considering a new deal with Flock, now's the time to show up and make noise. Our take-action page has tools to help you do exactly that.