This was the Albany Police Department’s only Flock license plate reader before the city council ordered it turned off on Feb. 26, 2026. A few days later it was stolen. Now it won’t be replaced.
Citing privacy and constitutional concerns, the majority of the Albany City Council voted Wednesday to terminate the city’s contract with Flock Safety for license plate readers.
The action means that the police department’s only active Flock camera, turned off in February and later stolen, won’t be replaced.
The police have a one-year contact with Atlanta-based Flock that has a few more months to run. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the contract can be canceled prematurely.
The contract provided the police with four Flock cameras, but only one had been deployed, at First Avenue and Ellsworth Street. The $14,000 contract was funded by a state grant to combat organized retail theft.
The council heard from dozens of speakers during its public comment period, almost all them them young, proclaiming all kinds of worries about the degree to which surveillance cameras endangered people’s privacy and constitutional protection against unwarranted searches.
None of the speakers seemed to draw a distinction between an automated camera taking a picture of cars on a public street and government agents conducting searches of citizens.
There was a political tinge to the wave of angst about Flock surveillance.
Councilor Carolyn McLeod said the council had received anti-Flock letters from both the Linn and Benton County Democratic Party committees. And some of the speakers referred to their distrust of the federal administration.
A few speakers urged the council to support use of the cameras for the sake of public safety.
It wasn’t entirely clear how recording all cars passing a fixed point and keeping the data for 30 days could enhance safety.
Councilor Ramycia McGhee supported use of the cameras. She recounted how someone in disguise had followed her home and left a nasty note at her door. She didn’t say just how a license plate reader could have prevented that frightening experience,
The council voted 4-2 against the Flock cameras. Councilors Newton, McLeod, Thomson and Van Drimmelen voted to end the contract. McGhee and Marilyn Smith opposed the contract cancellation. (hh)
Glad we terminated this ‘1984’ program.
Good riddance to this small part of the Right Wing Nanny Spie State.
Who had them installed? This Mayor/Council is obviously LEFT WING.
June is now Pride month for perpetuity? That’s NOT Right Wing.
Thank you for reporting on this Hasso!
Flock automated license plate reading cameras are estimated to help solve roughly 700,000 to 1,000,000 crimes each year, according to independent law enforcement estimates. This accounts for approximately 10% of all reported crime nationwide.
How about actual facts?
How many crimes were solved in total?
I’m not saying I’m for the cameras, but it slays me how everyone talks about privacy as though what they hold in their hand is private.
So, what kind of planning was involved to install these cameras other than a Police Chief who seems to be absent?
What about the speed and red light portion of the cameras?
I am a bit confused. They say the cameras only read license plates, yet when a person received a speeding ticket, their face is clearly on the documentation.
Is the “Flock” camera different than the cameras in use at Queen & Elm, North Albany & Thornton Lake, Queen & Geary or Santiam Rd and Geary?
Asking for a friend.
Yes, they are different cameras. While the council has said no to Flock license plate readers that potentially trace crooks, it enthusiastically supports enforcement cameras that give out tickets to taxpayers that commit traffic infractions.
The city needs more red light & speed tickets to pay for the new Wells Fargo problem..Flock doesn’t make a money….Oh yea i noticed that orange man bad must of set up those Flock camera’s….1984 program..