Story County is considering a contract renewal to keep a pair of license-plate-recognition cameras in place in Ames.
Flock Safety Group offers LPR cameras, or automated license plate readers, that automatically detect and record license plate information.
On Aug. 11, the Story County Board of Supervisors deliberated whether to renew its current agreement with Flock Safety for two license-plate-reader cameras. The contract provides the Story County Sheriff’s Office with two cameras for two additional years, according to county documents. Each camera is $5,000, for a total of $10,000.
The supervisors delayed a decision for a week, which Flock Safety expects by Aug. 20.
Where are Story County’s Flock cameras?
Story County’s Flock cameras have been in use since February 2024. According to the DeFlock Maps website, the cameras are located along Highway 30 in Ames between the Dayton Avenue and Interstate 35 exits, south of Flip’N Jacks Pancake House.
The sheriff’s office did not confirm the location during Tuesday’s meeting.
What are Flock cameras used for?
Flock Safety offers several cameras for communities, businesses and law enforcement agencies to utilize, but the ones most people see are automated license plate readers. These cameras, according to the company, are used to capture license plate numbers and vehicle details.
There have been many complaints about law enforcement’s use of Flock cameras. In some cases, there are citizens who feel these cameras are also used for facial recognition or other personal data.
Who has authority over Flock cameras in Story County?
Individual law enforcement agencies and local customers retain administrative authority over their specific camera data settings, and Flock does not override local or state data sharing controls, Story County Sheriff’s Office Field Services Commander Elizabeth Quinn said during Tuesday’s supervisors meeting.
Only administration users can change settings, and it must be approved by Quinn.
Story County is currently in the lowest tier for access settings, Quinn said. The county does not have nationwide access and only shares access with the Iowa State University Police Department, which operates 29 cameras in Ames.
Quinn said that even though Story County has an agreement with Iowa State, outside agencies do not have access to the county’s data.
Officers using Flock cameras will be held accountable for misuse
Quinn said Story County has a policy requiring training to access the camera system.
The training is on acceptable use, secure access and data use restrictions, search capabilities and procedures, alert notifications and verification procedures, agency “hot list” use and requirements and procedures to download and transfer data and images to evidence. There are also assessments that must be successfully completed before certification.
“Our policy also does hold those individuals that have access to it accountable,” Quinn said. “If there is any sort of abuse that is found of the system, there would be disciplinary action that would take place.”
Users can access license plates, but they have to specify what they’re using them for. Everything is logged by user, Chief Deputy Nicholas Lennie said.
“We could run reports if we suspected or if we wanted to make sure it wasn’t being abused by any individual user, or if there’s allegations of abuse,” Lennie said. “We have the ability to see when they’re logging on, what time, what they’re searching, where they’re going. There’s a lot in there for us to have that accountability.”
Police must have a valid reason to run a criminal history on a license plate.
“That’s why it’s important to have good policy, procedure, training, and best practices,” Lennie said.
Unauthorized data access of Flock cameras flagged in Story County
Story County conducts network audits regularly, Quinn said. In 2025, she discovered that on Oct. 1 and 2, four separate agencies had access to Story County Sheriff’s Office data.
The Ankeny Police Department, the West Des Moines Police Department, the Oklahoma City Police Department, and a Missouri police department had access.
Quinn said she reached out to Flock Safety, who said they remedied it automatically, limiting access to the two days in question.
Flock Safety did not confirm what happened, Quinn said, but the local sheriff’s office has since made sure its data isn’t shared with outside agencies.
Emery Glover contributed to this article.
Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Story County mulls Flock contract extension for 2 license plate cams
Reporting by Celia Brocker, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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By Celia Brocker, Ames Tribune | USA TODAY Network
