Gardner Police End Contract With Flock Safety Over Privacy Concerns

The Gardner Police Department has discontinued its use of Flock Safety license-plate-reading cameras and cancelled its contract with the company [1, 2].

This decision highlights a growing tension between law enforcement's desire for automated surveillance tools and public demands for data privacy. As cities increasingly adopt automated license-plate readers, the Gardner case serves as a precedent for municipalities reversing these policies due to oversight concerns.

The police department in the Kansas City suburb stopped using the system following scrutiny regarding how the automated technology operates [1, 3]. Officials said privacy and data-access concerns were the primary drivers for the cancellation [1, 4].

Flock Safety provides a network of cameras designed to capture license plates and alert officers to vehicles of interest in real time. While the company markets the tool as a way to solve crimes quickly, critics argue that the constant monitoring of public roads creates a permanent record of citizen movement.

The reach of such technology is significant, as Flock Safety's license-plate-reading network currently operates in 12 states ^[5]. The company's systems are often integrated across multiple jurisdictions, allowing agencies to share data on vehicles crossing city or state lines.

In Gardner, the move to terminate the agreement comes as part of a broader national conversation regarding the legality and ethics of mass surveillance. The department has not specified if it will seek an alternative system or return to traditional patrol methods for vehicle tracking [1, 2].