Two Arizona cities pulled Flock license plate readers from their streets within hours of each other on Wednesday, as Republican and Democratic politicians alike moved against the surveillance company on the same day.
Tempe, a Democratic-leaning city, terminated its $80,000 contract with Flock and will not seek a replacement. Cave Creek, a smaller, Republican-leaning town north of Phoenix, followed three hours later, citing privacy concerns and the structural risk of outside agencies accessing locally collected data.
The two cities are at least the ninth and 10th Arizona municipalities to drop or restrict Flock in the past year, joining Chandler, Surprise, Pinal County, Sedona, Flagstaff, Sierra Vista, South Tucson and Apache Junction.
Senators at Opposite Ends of Spectrum Align on Flock License Plate Readers
In Washington, Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, sent a letter to Flock chief executive Garrett Langley announcing a formal investigation into the company’s collection, retention and dissemination of data.
Hawley’s letter described Flock as operating an “unprecedented national surveillance network” of more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states, scanning more than 20 billion vehicles a month. He gave the company until 8 September to hand over documents. A Flock spokesperson said the company intends to cooperate.
Hours later, independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders posted a statement on X calling Flock part of a system risking what he described as totalitarianism. He said newer versions of the technology can match images of people and vehicles against databases of phone numbers, relatives and court records. “We must come together to stop Flock and AI mass surveillance,” Sanders wrote, adding he will introduce legislation to that effect.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, added his voice to the chorus on Wednesday, saying the increasing use of automated licence plate readers was “out of control,” according to The Hill.
Cancellations Spread as Scrutiny of Flock Cameras Grows
The pushback extends well beyond Arizona. Communities in 23 states rejected, cancelled or deactivated Flock licence plate readers in 2026 alone, with California and Wisconsin leading at seven apiece, according to Finding Flock, which mapped decisions compiled by the crowdsourced tracking project.
Anti-surveillance group DeFlock said more than 90 cities have moved to cancel or reject Flock contracts as of Wednesday.
Flock’s cameras have helped close roughly a million police investigations and locate about 10,000 missing people over the past year, by the company’s own account. An August Washington Post investigation found more than 50 law enforcement officers had been accused, charged with or convicted of misusing automated licence plate readers, including cases where officers tracked former partners.
Tempe’s own monthly audits found no misuse, yet the city still moved to end the contract. “These cameras have helped our police officers do their jobs, and we don’t discount that,” Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said. “But the risk of misuse is too great.”
Cave Creek’s core objection was structural: Flock’s networked design allows outside agencies to search locally collected data, and town officials concluded there was no way to guarantee residents’ privacy once their information left the town’s jurisdiction. A stolen Flock camera (removed from an intersection by thieves) prompted public works crews to take down the remaining units for safekeeping. The town manager and town attorney are set to address the decision formally at a 1 September council meeting.
A Flock spokesperson said removing a tool that actively helps solve violent crimes and locate missing people means “public safety moves backward,” and that every search is logged and reviewed through the company’s Audit Assistance tool. Flock has since cut its default data retention window from 30 days to seven and now requires officers to enter a case code before accessing stored records.
Langley has called publicly for a “compromise” between privacy and safety, with the 8 September congressional document deadline now the next formal pressure point.
