Tempe will no longer participate in Flock's national data-sharing program, but the automated license plate readers will remain.
The city announced on Aug. 11 that it would begin the process of moving away from Flock Safety's automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, after controversy plagued the company for over a year.
As part of that process, the city will disable data-sharing with outside law enforcement agencies, create a transparency portal for the public and bid for a new ALPR system.
In late March, the City Council agreed to test ALPRs from Scottsdale-based company Axon. As of Aug. 11, no updates to the pilot program have been released. City spokesperson Kris Baxter said the results of the pilot were still being reviewed.
The announcement
comes on the heels of a similar move out of Chandler. The neighboring city announced Aug. 7 that it would terminate its contract with Flock Safety after a routine audit of data collected by the cameras flagged misuse of the system by an officer within the Chandler Police Department.
Flock is an Atlanta-based company that has contracts with thousands of law enforcement agencies nationwide. It has been increasingly criticized for allowing federal agencies, including U.S. Border Patrol, to access data without some police departments' explicit approval, despite the company repeatedly denying it. Advocacy groups across the U.S. have also raised concerns about an AI-powered mass surveillance network.
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
Lauren De Young covers transportation and the cities of Tempe and Chandler for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at ldeyoung@azcentral.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tempe to stop sharing Flock camera data after controversy
