ASHEVILLE - Asheville police say they have safeguards that help protect the public against the misuse of surveillance tools, but some City Council members are calling for an end to the city's contract with Flock Safety.
There are 86 Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras
in Buncombe County, including 11 cameras in Asheville city limits, according to a memo sent Aug. 14 to the Asheville City Council by Interim Police Chief Jackie Stepp.In the memo, Stepp argued for continuing to use the Flock system, saying that ending the contract would not end the use of automated license plate readers, but would instead strip police of a resource that has aided them in multiple prominent investigations. Police vehicles have been equipped with Axon
automated license plate readers since April 2024, and in February 2025, APD began using the Flock automated license plate readers, according to the memo.
City opposition
Some city leaders are opposed to APD's use of the Flock system. Mayor Esther Manheimersaid in a statement Aug. 19 that she intends to callfor a vote during the Aug. 25 City Council meeting that would authorize the city manager to terminate Asheville's contract with Flock Safety.
"After careful review and consultation, I have determined it would not be enough to call for a moratorium on the use of Flock technology, because our contract does not allow for the removal of the technology unless we terminate the contract," Manheimer said.
Manheimer said that Asheville residents have raised "significant" concerns about Flock license plate reading cameras. Despite a resolution in May to protect the civil liberties of Asheville residents, continued reporting on Flock's control and use of data make it clear that further action is necessary, Manheimer added.
How APD uses Flock
But Stepp said that the Flock cameras have helped progress several important criminal investigations. In the July 19 double homicide on Biltmore Avenue, Flock provided "critical investigative information"that helped police identify vehicles and individuals connected to the killing, including co-conspirators, Stepp wrote. No arrest has been made in that shooting, which injured seven people and killed two.
On July 5,after a drive-by shooting at Maple Crest Apartments,Flock helped investigators identify all vehicles that were involved, and two people have been charged, Stepp wrote.
In another case, two people from Georgia went on a crime spree across the Southeast and stole more than $3,000 in jewelry from a store in the Grove Arcade. Flock helped investigators identify the people responsible, and they were arrested, Step wrote.
According to data publicly released as part of a Flock transparency portal, Flock cameras in Asheville have read 368,113 license plates over the last 30 days, resulting in 8,174 "hotlist" hits, or alerts of vehicles that are stolen, or wanted in connection with a crime, a missing person, or an Amber or Silver Alert.
In May, the Asheville City Council voted to accept federal funding to create a "real-time intelligence center," which uses Axon Fusus software to connect public and private cameras to the police network and aggregate that data into a hub at the police department's headquarters in downtown Asheville, the Citizen Times previously reported.
Jimmy Wingo, law enforcement technology manager for the Asheville Police Department, told the Citizen Times Aug. 19 that only 12 people within the Asheville Police Department can access the Flock system. Wingo added that officers who use the cameras must have a case number and an investigative reason for using them, and that the way the system is used is subject to quarterly audits. In addition, the retention period for the images the cameras capture has been reduced from 30 to 21 days, and APD has reduced the number of law enforcement agencies that can access Asheville's system to states adjacent to North Carolina. Those include Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. The radius for law enforcement access previously was 500 miles, according to the memo.
Wingo said the city is getting five new cameras as part of the Axon contract, and Axon cameras will be subject to the same safeguards. Those cameras will have capabilities beyond reading license plates, Wingo said.
In addition to reading license plates, the Axon cameras can be used like typical surveillance cameras, watching the areas where they're located.
"Every license plate reader camera that we have has the same safeguards," Wingo said. "I think this is where we differ from a lot of departments."
He said that the Asheville Police Department has had no instances of officers misusing the technology.
"I think that goes back to the way we control our system here, and the way we've controlled our system from the beginning," he said.
In her memo, Stepp said that APD is not pursuing a full transition away from Flock, but instead is working to "right-size" the department's Flock deployment while expanding and integrating Axon's automated license plate reader capabilities based on the police department's needs, Stepp wrote.
"This approach allows APD to maintain access to the broader regional Flock network while using Axon technology where it provides specific operational and integration benefits," Stepp wrote.
By Feb. 2027, APD expects to complete the planned reduction of its Flock contract and have the Axon automated license plate reader infrastructure operational, Stepp wrote. APD is currently exploring transitioning from its existing Flock camera system to a software license that would preserve access to the Flock network without maintaining the same level of APD-owned Flock infrastructure, Stepp wrote.
If that is not possible, APD will evaluate whether to continue its relationship with Flock after Feb. 2027, Stepp wrote.
A possible vote
Despite the safeguards Stepp outlined, both the mayor and at least two city council members are calling for the contract with Flock to be discontinued.
Council member Bo Hess told the Citizen Times Aug. 19 that he's always been skeptical of Flock Safety.
"I have posted publicly text messages with me and the city manager asking how we can expedite the removal of the Flock cameras. I will be supporting discontinuing the contract at the next meeting," Hess said.
Hess said his issue is specifically with Flock Safety.
"We've had automatic license plate readers since 2001. This is not new technology. The issue that I'm hearing from my constituents is specifically with Flock," Hess said.
Council member Sage Turner said in a statement July 19 that she wants the Flock cameras taken down.
"My expectation was 10 of the 11 Flock cameras would be removed immediately. Only one would remain up until the end of the contract in February. These were conditions of my vote," she said.
She said that since learning the cameras have not been removed and are not scheduled to be, she's been contacting colleagues and city staff to talk about how to correct the situation.
"Flock has raised many concerns across the nation and our local community has vehemently shared their distrust in this company. ... I want them taken down," Turner added.
Kara Fohner is the Public Safety Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email her at kfohner@usatodayco.com or call her at 980-241-8671.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville leaders push police department to end contract with Flock
