Author: Wren Smetana
Sedona’s City Council unanimously voted on Sept. 9 to sever its contract with Flock Safety and remove 11 automated license plate recognition cameras, intended to aid police investigations, from around the city.
“The public has told us overwhelmingly they don’t want them. I have offered to speak with some people and say, ‘Is there some middle ground approach that would satisfy you? Fewer cameras? Less data retention?’ and the overwhelming response has been, ‘No,’” Councilmember Derek Pfaff said.
“Time is money, as they say. I really don’t want to throw good money after bad, so I think we should just shut this thing down, take down the cameras,” Pfaff added.
In March 2025, Sedona entered into a two-year contract with Flock Group Inc. for automated license plate recognition services to the city, joining in on a cooperative purchasing agreement with Tempe.
At an Aug. 13 City Council meeting, it was decided that more information regarding data storage, retention, and usage would need to be provided before the license plate recognition technology could be used.
Along with concerns about Flock Security’s data policies and use of artificial intelligence, some community members were upset by the lack of public awareness before the decision to install the license plate readers. At the Aug. 13 meeting, they said the city’s process had been secretive and a step toward a surveillance state.
A few said the license plate readers would not be an issue for them if the public had been notified about the project in advance, but the lack of transparency and encroachment into residential communities made them uncomfortable.
Others said they believed the license plate readers were a good idea and should have been installed a long time ago.
Deflock Tucson 
Leave a Reply