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Flock camera pushback: Fond du Lac, Racine counties ending use
Six more southeastern Wisconsin police agencies are ditching their Flock cameras as the backlash accelerates against the nation's largest vendor of automated license plate readers. They join Kenosha and Sheboygan, which are both asking their common councils to cancel existing contracts.
MILWAUKEE - Six more southeastern Wisconsin police agencies are ditching their Flock cameras as the backlash accelerates against the nation's largest vendor of automated license plate readers. They join Kenosha and Sheboygan, which are both asking their common councils to cancel existing contracts.
Dropping Flock
What we know:
On Friday, Sept. 4, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling shared pictures showing city crews dismantling the poles and cameras that have been tracking vehicle movements across the county.
Flock camera removal in Racine County
That came a little more than an hour after a joint statement from five agencies in Fond du Lac County, including the Fond du Lac County Sheriff and police departments in Fond du Lac, North Fond du Lac, Waupun, and Ripon. The joint statement says they are discontinuing use of their Flock systems effective immediately, citing "concerns over how quickly Flock's technology has expanded beyond traditional plate-reading systems."
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Flock camera removal in Racine County
"You’re starting to see a pretty big pull away," said Kenosha Police Chief Patrick Patton.
Patton says they were told Flock strictly reads license plates and captures unique vehicle features.
"If it’s doing more. If there’s some sort of backside that we’re not aware of, we have some concern there," said Patton.
Patton says the sudden loss of trust in Flock started with an email from a Flock sales rep to the City of Sheboygan's Public Works Department back in March. The sales rep offered to sell the city five years of traffic volume and speed data their cameras were already collecting.
Many police chiefs say they didn’t know the cameras were collecting additional data beyond plate reads. That revelation has caused them to lose trust in the company. In August, Sheboygan covered up its Flock cameras, setting off a wave of cancellations that continues to grow.
The Racine County Sheriff writes, "This is not what we agreed to, and it’s not what the public was led to believe."
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Kenosha police ending Flock contract, moving to Axon
FOX6 Investigators have now documented at least 148 cases of alleged Flock misuse by police officers across the country – including 11 in Wisconsin. Now, the City of Kenosha says it's ditching its Flock contract and going with another vendor.
Both Kenosha and Sheboygan have Flock on the agenda on Monday as police are asking each common council to formally terminate their Flock contracts.
That does not mean fixed pole license plate readers are necessarily going away. Kenosha has already signed a 10-year deal with Axon to do the same thing.
FOX6 News will have more on what that means next week.
Racine County interview
Dig deeper:
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Racine County Sheriff orders Flock removal, lieutenant speaks to FOX6
The Racine County Sheriff has ordered the removal of all Flock cameras. Racine County Sheriff Lieutenant Michael Luell joined FOX6 to share more.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Bryan Polcyn and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: The Racine County Sheriff's Office sent FOX6 a press release. Also, the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office, the Fond du Lac Police Department, the Waupun Police Department, the Ripon Police Department, and the North Fond du Lac Police Department sent FOX6 a joint press release.