#flock-safety

#flock-safety

Berkeley has abandoned at least temporarily a plan to bulk up its police surveillance network with new video cameras, drones and software supplied by the firm Flock Safety. The City Council voted 8-1 Thursday to pull the plug on a proposed $2 million surveillance network expansion sought by police, though it did not close the door on contracting with Flock for the technology in the future. In the short term, the council renewed Berkeley's lease of 52 of the tech giant's automated license plate readers for up to another year, at a cost of up to $200,000.

Since the start of 2025, at least 30 cities have canceled their contracts with Flock Safety, the AI surveillance company whose CEO wants to end all crime within the decade by blanketing the country in ever-watchful security cameras. That startling figure comes courtesy of NPR, which reports that concerned activists are putting mounting pressure on cities to cut ties with the company. "We are seeing a lot more momentum," Will Freeman, a Colorado-based organizer who runs the website DeFlock.org, told the broadcaster.

All of Mountain View's license plate cameras are being disabled, effective immediately, Police Chief Mike Canfield announced Monday afternoon. The move comes in the wake of the police department's disclosure last week that hundreds of law enforcement agencies had accessed the sensitive data in violation of the city's policies for over a year. The cameras will remain turned off until further direction is provided by the Mountain View City Council,

The city will stick with a surveillance company that scans license plates to help law enforcement catch criminal suspects, a dramatic reversal of an earlier vote that had rejected the firm's new $2 million contract. The company, Flock Safety, will maintain an existing network of 300 cameras to monitor the city's busiest streets and local state highways for up to two years while the Oakland Police Department conducts a competitive search for a long-term vendor.