In an Oct. 8 social media post, Ward 5 council member Devon Reese announced the city would not renew its contract with Flock Safety, a national provider of automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras.
“Reno is putting public safety, privacy, and accountability first,” he wrote, in part.
Reached by text, Reese confirmed the announcement and shared a letter signed by City Manager Jackie Bryant notifying the company of the city’s decision.
“This notice is intended to provide clear and timely notice that Customer does not wish for the Agreement to automatically renew following expiration of the current Term,” it said.
The contract with Flock will expire on March 17, 2027.
ALPRs are often mounted on public roads, where they take pictures of passing cars’ license plates. Recently, they’ve seen bipartisan backlash over privacy concerns and several high-profile cases involving individual officers abusing the technology to stalk and harass people.
Daniel Jenkins with Northern Nevada Democratic Socialists of America supported the move, but said the city could sign with another company to do the same thing.
“The City of Sparks did that this year,” he said, “Very shortly after canceling the ALPR contract with flock safety, they engaged in an ALPR contract with Axon, which is another manufacturer of these systems.”
Sparks City Council approved a five-year contract with Axon in June.
Jenkins said ALPRs give police “superpowers in their ability to track and surveil.”
Reese also shared a letter ending the city’s contract with BRINC, a Motorola subsidiary that provides police drones and “Drone as First Responder” software, which dispatches drones to monitor active situations — often before officers arrive on-scene.
In his original post, Reese added that officials could look at other providers to replace the two contracts.
“During an upcoming meeting, the City Council will consider the next steps, including a potential new contract and stronger standards governing how these technologies are used,” he wrote.
