The Grass Valley Police Department will indefinitely suspend its use of automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, including Flock Safety cameras, the department announced Tuesday night during a Grass Valley City Council meeting.
Police Chief Alex Gammelgard said the decision follows a comprehensive review of the technology and its future, as well as conversations with community members and changes in how ALPR systems are being used by government agencies.
Gammelgard said the department is examining concerns surrounding the warrantless collection and access of information, how data is collected and controlled, security and privacy protections, how long information is stored, whether data can be used for product development and how information is shared with government and non-government entities.
"ALPR issues can certainly be defined as 4th Amendment issues," Gammelgard said.
The department's decision was met with an eruption of applause.
"I changed what I was going to say tonight," Grass Valley resident Matt Johnson said at the council meeting. "Thank you for taking the time to review the Flock surveillance contract and end our contract."
Still, several community members wished the Police Department had addressed the issue earlier on. The Grass Valley City Council first approved the use of ALPRs with a 5-0 vote in 2021, believing in its ability to address violent crime and retail theft.
"I happen to be a big fan of history, and a big fan of our constitution, and a big fan of personal rights. And this issue, while it has come on fast, is something that should have been addressed in greater depth before it was ever adopted," community member Roger Dean said.
Previously, dozens of residents and privacy advocates had protested Grass Valley's contract with Flock at a May 29 council meeting.
The police department's suspension of ALPRs now comes as the technology has quietly populated across the Greater Sacramento region, including in Elk Grove, Folsom, Yolo County, and Placer County, creating a surveillance network that extends over roughly 2.2 million people in Sacramento County alone.
ALPR systems use cameras to capture license plate information and other vehicle characteristics, which can then be used by law enforcement to help locate vehicles connected to investigations.
CBS News Sacramento previously reported on ALPR controversy in March, when the City of Rancho Cordova spent more than $1 million on a five-year contract with Flock Safety to install 53 roadside cameras around town. Proponents of Flock say it helps law enforcement officers address crime, allowing them to see within seconds of where a car might be or has been.
As Flock cameras continue to expand across the country, questions of privacy, surveillance, and constitutional rights remain a hot topic of debate at local city council meetings, especially as anti-ALPR groups like DeFlock Sac Metro emerge in tandem.
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