Richmond’s contract with Flock Safety expired on February 28, but the cameras have been disabled since October, after the police department found out that federal agencies could access their data.
Richmond’s Chief of Police, Timothy Simmons, told city council that, despite privacy concerns, the cameras have been incredibly helpful for the police department. Vehicle theft increased by 33 percent after the cameras were disabled last year.
There are more than 150 Flock cameras installed throughout Richmond.
In the last three months, the city councils of Santa Cruz, Mountain View, and Los Altos Hills terminated their respective contracts with Flock Safety. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors also voted to adopt a new policy that prohibits the county Sheriff's Office from contracting with Flock Safety as a vendor for ALPR cameras.
In the end, the Richmond City Council voted four-to-three to approve the contract. They instructed city staff to create stronger guardrails to prevent data being shared with outside agencies.
