Arlington County, VA, Dayton and Mountain View Are Among 14 Large Local Governments Ending or Pausing Flock Cameras

Fourteen local governments with 50,000 or more people have ended or paused their Flock Safety license plate cameras, Obedio meeting records show. Officials in only two, Dayton, Ohio, and Harrisonburg, Virginia, pointed to public opinion as a reason. In seven, the records show no public comment on Flock at all. Every one of these actions on record came in 2026. The records for Richmond, California, and Albany, Oregon, do not say when their cameras were first turned off. Flock cameras photograph license plates and log when and where each car passes. Police use them to find stolen cars and suspects.

The largest is Arlington County, Virginia. On September 15, its County Board voted 5-0 to stop using Flock and remove the cameras. Nine of the 14 ended or moved to end their use of Flock. Five paused. Hayward has approved replacement plate cameras from Axon. Richmond, one of the 14, is weighing an Axon plate reader deal.

Where officials gave reasons, three come up again and again. Who can see the data? What does the contract let Flock do with it? Was anyone checking? In at least three places, Richmond, Dayton and Oshkosh, police or city documents said plate readers help with investigations.

At a Glance

• Ended or moving to end: Arlington County VA, Wright County MN, Dayton OH, Walton County FL, Santa Barbara CA, Mountain View CA, Chatham County NC, Oshkosh WI and Harrisonburg VA.
• Paused: Richmond CA, Renton WA, Racine WI, Albany OR and Wylie TX (renewal suspended).
• Moving to another vendor: Hayward CA approved 64 replacement plate cameras from Axon. Richmond CA has an Axon plate reader deal pending.
• Largest government: Arlington County, 5-0 on September 15.
• Closest votes: Renton paused 4-3. Racine voted 8-6 to cover its cameras after a motion to end Flock failed 6-8.
• Biggest crowds: about 45 speakers in Mountain View, 35 in Harrisonburg in March and about 37 in July, and 27 in Dayton, 22 of them against Flock.
• Public pressure cited: only Dayton and Harrisonburg. Seven of the 14 records show no public comment on Flock.
• Praise on record: Richmond, Dayton and Oshkosh records, plus an undated Santa Barbara policy, say plate readers help investigations.
• Most common reasons: data sharing beyond the city, contract terms on data use, and weak oversight.

The Large Governments That Ended or Paused Flock

Why They Did It

Dayton: a probe into data access. Police were looking into "data access activity." City Manager Shelley Dickstein said they had checked more than 7,000 email accesses and hundreds of thousands of records. Mayor Turner-Sloss called it negligence and said there may have been "misdirection and failures in oversight." Commissioner Joseph called for "the immediate shutdown" of the system. He also wanted to know what data had been "shared with outside law enforcement and other agencies." At a later meeting, he said the Commission had told staff to cover the cameras and remove them. The records do not show a formal vote.

Chatham County: the contract itself. Commissioners said the contract had broad terms on how data could be used and shared. The minutes say it "created an unacceptable risk for misuse or abuse of collected data." They said the problem was not the Sheriff's Office or how well the cameras work. Commissioner Delaney voted no. He said he did not believe wrongdoing had occurred and wanted more study first.

Oshkosh: who owns the data. A city memo warned that plate reader data can be shared across many places. It said vendor contracts can let the vendor use the data. It asked "whether data generated from public infrastructure should become a commercial asset." It also warned that users can abuse access to track "former partners."

Albany: federal access worries. These came up when the council weighed a restart. The Oregon Law Center told the council that outside agencies were giving federal officers logins to plate reader data. Police Chief Marcia Harnden said Albany moved to leave Flock's National Lookup program in December 2025. The city had one camera up and three more planned.

Harrisonburg: public pressure. Thirty-five people spoke against Flock in March. About 37 spoke in July. One was the head of the New Bridge Immigrant Resource Center. Mayor Reed said she had met with "the de-Flock group" and that "the community has been heard." Council Member Robinson cited "the protection of constitutional rights."

Arlington County: no reasons on the record. The vote came after a closed session. The topic was "legal options regarding a certain contract" with "a provider of certain public safety technology." The minutes record the motion and the vote, but not the debate.

Records for Wright County, Walton County, Wylie, Racine, Mountain View and Renton show the votes but give no reasons. Santa Barbara's records show neither.

Who Spoke Up

Large crowds came out in several of these places. In Dayton, 27 people signed up to speak, and 22 spoke against Flock. In Mountain View, the minutes list about 45 speakers on the contract. Some spoke for groups. They included the Santa Clara County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California, Silicon Valley Democratic Socialists of America, Silicon Valley Rising and Indivisible Palo Alto Plus. The minutes do not record what each speaker said. In Renton, nine speakers opposed the cameras before the 4-3 pause.

Not every crowd was one-sided. Richmond grew its Flock network in 2023. The head of the police officers' union and others spoke in favor. One speaker said over 100 people at community meetings had asked for the cameras.

Did Anyone Say the Cameras Worked?

Yes, in a few places. Richmond's records are the most detailed. In November 2023, Police Chief Bisa French spoke to the council. She said "more than 85% of homicides and serious violent crimes investigations" used the plate readers. She told of a 2022 murder. The cameras tracked the suspect's car to a casino. The council then voted to grow the contract to $998,100. The goal was to go from 30 plate readers to 100. No one voted no.

By February 2026, the Richmond cameras were off. Police Chief Timothy Simmons told a review board that car thefts were up again as a result. He said he had not decided to turn them back on.

In 2025, Dayton police said new cameras and plate readers were helping lead to "significant arrests." Other efforts were part of it too. They gave no figures for the plate readers alone.

Oshkosh's memo on its plate reader moratorium said plate reader technology "can provide important benefits to law enforcement in criminal investigations and may be appropriate for the City to use in the future."

An undated Santa Barbara policy said plate readers help with "public safety in response to critical incidents or investigations." In Albany, the city's tech director said he came away sure the police had good controls on the data. He did not speak to results.

Chatham County did not question the cameras either. Commissioners who voted to cancel said their concerns "were not directed toward the Sheriff's Office or the effectiveness of the technology for law enforcement purposes."

Records for Arlington County, Wright County, Walton County, Wylie, Racine, Renton and Harrisonburg hold no claims about results at all. In Mountain View, police spoke on the contract, but the minutes do not record what they said.

The Benefits in Perspective

The records say little about results. Richmond is the only one of the 14 with figures and case examples. Dayton is the only other with a police claim of arrests. No record among the 14 counts stolen cars found or cases solved by Flock.

Few officials who pulled the cameras said they did not work. Chatham County said its vote was not about that. Oshkosh left the door open to plate readers later.

Norfolk, Virginia, shows the other side. It has about 231,000 people and still uses Flock. On August 25, Police Chief Talbot told the City Council the Flock system "continues to be a valuable tool." He cited several recent cases, including these three. Police identified offenders with a rifle after a shooting into an occupied home. They tracked suspects in a July shooting. They quickly identified a suspect in a hit-and-run involving a nine-year-old boy. The chief said the city's most vulnerable areas are not asking for the cameras to come down.

What Smaller Towns Put on the Record

Two smaller places recorded the trade-off in more detail. In Windsor, Connecticut, the cameras went off in February. Police Chief Melanson said that in the three months before, officers ran over 450 searches for about 70 cases. He listed cases the shutdown made harder, including two shootings. A motion to turn the cameras back on failed 4-5 on July 6. Councilor King said, "This particular vendor is not trustworthy." The chief said a national lookup tool let agencies across the country search Windsor's data. It was turned off once it was found.

In Monroe, Ohio, the council voted 5-0 on September 22 to end Flock. The city paid $69,000 a year for 23 cameras. Mayor Funk said he first backed Flock but now sees it as "government overreach." The police chief confirmed the city has data-sharing deals with agencies in other states.

What Comes Next

• Hayward voted 6-1 for a five-year Axon deal of up to $2,945,000. It includes drones and 64 replacement plate reader cameras. The record does not name the vendor being replaced.
• Richmond may add $3.5 million to its Axon contract for plate readers and other surveillance gear. It also plans a $20,000 study of whether plate readers cut crime.
• Santa Barbara staff asked the council about a Verkada plate reader system.
• Harrisonburg told its lawyer to draft a plate reader law. A September agenda listed a law that would ban the city from buying or using them.
• Oshkosh has a resolution pending to bar plate reader use without council approval.
• Chatham County staff are writing an artificial intelligence policy. The board wants a framework for future technology contracts.
• Racine's cameras are covered. A committee had urged keeping the contract through December 31. The final vote does not say what happens to it.

Timeline

Why It Matters

Where reasons are on the record, most were about contract terms and data rules. Few were about whether the cameras worked. Chatham County said so directly. In Windsor, the mayor and Councilor King said their votes were about the vendor, not the technology.

Several cities are not giving up plate readers. Hayward approved Axon plate cameras, and Richmond is considering them. Santa Barbara is looking at Verkada. Windsor's mayor said she would prefer another vendor.

New rules often follow. Harrisonburg and Oshkosh have new rules pending. Oshkosh would require a council vote before plate readers are used. Harrisonburg may ban them. Chatham County wants a framework for future technology contracts.

What Is Still Unsettled

Some exit votes are not in the records. Dayton, Santa Barbara, Harrisonburg and Oshkosh records show the result. They do not show a vote that ended Flock.

Results data is thin. Most records give no figures on stolen cars found, arrests or cases solved.

Paused is not ended. Richmond, Renton, Racine and Albany could still restart or end their deals. Wylie could still sign a new contract with new terms.

What to Watch

• Richmond: the vote on the $3.5 million Axon plate reader addition and the $20,000 study.
• Racine: what happens to its Flock contract now that the cameras are covered.
• Harrisonburg: the ordinance on banning city plate readers.
• Oshkosh: the resolution requiring council approval for plate reader use.
• Santa Barbara: the council's decision on Verkada.
• Arlington County: how and when the cameras come down.

This article is factual background and is not legal, financial, or investment advice.