After national outcry and vandalism of Flock cameras reached central Iowa, the Waukee Police Department announced it won’t renew its contract with the company.
A few of the more than 120,000 Flock automated license plate reading cameras scattered across the country have been vandalized, damaged, or destroyed in recent months.
There are more than 300 cameras in central Iowa, according to previous Register reporting. Several reports of vandalism and destruction have been confirmed in communities like Pleasant Hill, Ankeny, Johnston and Altoona.
None of Waukee’s 11 Flock cameras have been vandalized, Waukee Police Chief Chad McCluskey told the Register.
McCluskey, in a Facebook post on Friday, Aug. 14, announced the department will “not renew our relationship with the automated license plate reader (ALPR) vendor Flock Safety.”
The police chief said the department will stop using the license plate cameras “pending the outcome of the 2027 legislative session, where lawmakers will likely consider legislation related to the technology.”
“We made this decision after listening closely to concerns raised by ongoing national discussions — primarily concerns centered on privacy and data retention issues,” McCluskey said. “We believe the right path forward is to let the legislative process set clear, statewide standards before we continue our program.”
What are automated license plate readers?
Automated license plate readers are cameras that can automatically recognize and register license plate characters and numbers and store images of the plates. The cameras can be stationary, in vehicles, or portable with solar panels.
The cameras take still photos of the back of vehicles when motion is detected and also store location, time, and date, as well as car make, model, and color.
Automated license plate readers are not the same as automated traffic enforcement cameras triggered by a violation, such as speeding. License plate readers take images of all vehicles that pass by, regardless of whether a motorist has done anything wrong.
Waukee is first metro city to stop using Flock cameras
Waukee is the first city in central Iowa to nix its Flock contract. Metro cities like Ankeny, Altoona, Clive, Johnston, Urbandale and West Des Moines have contracts with Flock, as do Windsor Heights and Pleasant Hill.
Waukee joins Coralville in eastern Iowa, which canceled its contract with Flock Safety in February.
Des Moines, which has 120 mobile license plate readers in DMPD patrol vehicles and two stationary cameras, uses Motorola cameras.
McCluskey previously told the Register that license plate reader cameras are “a critical resource for law enforcement and have contributed to numerous positive outcomes in serious investigations that may not have been solved as quickly — or at all — without this technology.”
Waukee’s Flock cameras have helped several cases, including finding a man with dementia, locating a suspect in a sex trafficking investigation, and identifying suspects in an ATM theft ring and a multi-state fraud case. The technology has helped recover stolen vehicles, license plates, and other stolen items, McCluskey said in Friday’s statement.
“We do not take the value of these tools lightly, and we want our community to understand the impact of this decision,” McCluskey said. “But effectiveness alone isn’t the only measure of a good decision. … Pausing this program while our community and state stakeholders work through these questions together is what that mission looks like in practice.”
Kyle Werner is the breaking news and public safety reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Waukee ends Flock camera contract amid concerns, awaits legislation
Reporting by Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
