Columbus leased License Plate Readers from Flock Group for $228,000, waiving competitive bidding...
The short version: Flock Clocker flags that Columbus skipped competitive bidding to hand Flock Group a $228,000 ALPR lease, raising familiar red flags about rushed surveillance procurement.
Our Take
Credit to Flock Clocker for digging into Columbus's paperwork and surfacing what a lot of cities seem to do quietly: waive competitive bidding and sole-source a six-figure contract straight to Flock Group. A $228,000 lease isn't pocket change, and skipping the bid process means no other vendor, no price comparison, and often no real public debate about whether this is the right tool, let alone the right price.
This pattern matters because procurement shortcuts are how surveillance infrastructure gets normalized before residents even know it's on the table. When councils wave through no-bid contracts for camera networks that vacuum up every passing plate, they're making a permanent infrastructure decision on an accelerated, low-scrutiny timeline. That's a governance problem as much as a privacy one — the public deserves a say before the cameras go up, not a ribbon-cutting after the fact.
If you want to see whether Flock hardware has already landed in your own city, check our camera map, and if you'd rather push back before your council signs a check like Columbus did, our take-action page has tools to help you get organized.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Flock Clocker, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.