Govan

San Francisco is retaining its network of more than 400 Flock automated license plate reader cameras, bucking a national trend of cities and states restricting or banning the technology over privacy and accuracy concerns. The city adopted a new policy last month that keeps the cameras active while adding oversight: police must now get supervisor approval and show a connection to an active criminal investigation before searching data older than 30 days.

That national pushback continues to grow. In Springfield, Massachusetts, protesters rallied at City Hall urging the City Council to cancel its Flock Safety contract, joining roughly 30 other Massachusetts communities that have already dropped the company. Critics cite abuse risks, including a documented case of out-of-state police searching a Massachusetts database to track a woman who traveled for an abortion, and fears the system could be used to monitor immigrants or protesters. Springfield police defend the cameras as critical to solving homicides and other serious crimes, citing strict access limits and audit logs.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has defended San Francisco's cameras similarly, pointing to crime declines since 2022. Support traces back to former Mayor London Breed's 2024 rollout and Proposition E. California lawmakers have repeatedly rejected statewide Flock regulations.