Denver voted to not extend its Flock camera contract: Are ICE access concerns valid?

Yahoo

09-05-2025

DENVER (KDVR) — On May 5, the Denver City Council failed to approve a contract extension with Flock, a tech surveillance company that has been contracted to provide over 100 license plate readers around the county.
The city first contracted with Flock in March 2023, with the original agreement lasting through the end of this February. The amendment would have extended the contract by another two years for $666,000. The original contract cost the city $339,450, but the cost wasn't the main reason why council members voted no.
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Instead, the members cited privacy concerns, questioning who has access to the data as Denver continues to remain in the crosshairs of the Trump Administration for so-called 'sanctuary laws.' Members worried that federal agencies would gain access to data and information that would be detrimental to immigrant communities.
The Denver District Attorney's Office told FOX31 it would work with stakeholders to address potential privacy concerns, while the Denver Mayor's Office said it had asked for the contract to be voted down, but said the city plans to continue its 'pilot of the Flock software.'
'As Denver works to leverage responsible technology to improve public safety in our community, we plan to convene a task force to address concerns and ensure we are employing the best strategies to reduce crime. We look forward to a collaborative process with City Council and other stakeholders across the city,' concluded a statement from the mayor's office.
One of Denver's southern neighbors, Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly, spoke out against the vote. Weekly posted to X on May 6, referencing a FOX31 story on the contract extension failure, saying, 'This morning we caught a robbery suspect from another jurisdiction using @Flock_Safety. This tech helps catch murderers, rapists, kidnappers, robbers, & ID sex offenders near schools. Meanwhile, @CityofDenver policies empower criminals and make our entire metro area less safe.'
Weekly has also been vocal about wanting local law enforcement to be able to work directly with federal agents on civil immigration matters, which is currently prevented by Colorado law, and was part of a lawsuit to try and overturn the laws so his deputies can work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The U.S. Department of Justice has also sued to try and overturn those laws.
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One citizen asked about the protection of personal data when it comes to Flock cameras, asserting that 'safety is paramount' but asking how much privacy should be sacrificed for safety.
'100% agreed,' the sheriff wrote. 'There is an audit trail on who is accessing information and for what purpose. Also limited retention of information based on agency policy. Keep in mind this reads the tech identifies the plate and vehicle description. It does not ID the individual(s) inside.'
FOX31 asked Flock to weigh in on the privacy concerns. The company noted first that its technology has been used to solve 'hundreds of cases' by the Denver Police Department, including a multi-million dollar jewelry heist at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center.
'The Sheriff is correct in all of these assertions. All searches conducted in the Flock LPR (license plate reader) system are saved in a permanent audit trail, which records the user, the parameters of the search, and the reason for the search (typically a case number),' Flock told FOX31. 'All data collected by the LPR system — both vehicle images and metadata — are owned by the customer, in this case DPD, stored in the cloud encrypted, and purged automatically after 30 days. Denver has instituted an LPR policy that guides acceptable use and data sharing, along with additional best practices like regular audits and user training.'
The company said that the license plate reader system only has searchable images of vehicles, which can be conducted on specific vehicle plates and vehicle characteristics, but not people.
'On data storage, our system ensures that images and metadata are encrypted throughout the entire lifecycle — collection, processing, and storage,' Flock said. The company added that it is also certified by the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services and are also NDAA, SOC2 (Type II), SOC3, ISO 27001, Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Tool, HIPAA and FERPA-compliant.
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'Because the data is owned by the agency, Flock defers all data requests from any entity to the agency in question,' Flock concluded.
The Denver City Council Committee on safety, housing, education and homelessness has not placed a new Flock camera contract request on its upcoming agenda.
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