Latest headlines | Fort Collins City Council voted to cut ties with Flock license plate readers

Our Take

Credit to 9NEWS for getting this on the record: Fort Collins didn't just table a renewal or quietly let a contract lapse — the council actually voted to cut ties with Flock Safety. That's a rare outcome in the ALPR world, where most cities sign on and never look back. It suggests council members heard real pushback from residents who didn't love the idea of a private company's cameras logging every car that passes through town.

This matters because the usual pattern with Flock is quiet, permanent expansion. Once a department has a network of plate readers feeding a national database, elected officials rarely revisit the decision — it just becomes part of the furniture. Fort Collins breaking that pattern is a reminder that these contracts aren't permanent fixtures. Public records requests, council meetings, and persistent residents asking hard questions about cost, accuracy, and data sharing can actually move the needle.

If you're in a city still debating whether to bring Flock in — or trying to get it out — this is the kind of precedent worth citing at your own council meeting. Check our camera map to see what's already deployed near you, and head to take action for tools to push your local officials toward the same kind of reversal Fort Collins just pulled off.