MANITOWOC – The City of Manitowoc is deactivating all city-owned Flock Safety automatic license plate recognition cameras after weeks of public debate over privacy, police surveillance and how vehicle data could be accessed.
Mayor Justin Nickels announced the decision Saturday, Sept. 5, saying the city and Manitowoc Police Department had submitted a formal request to Flock Safety to deactivate the cameras. The company has acknowledged the request, according to the city.
The move applies only to cameras owned and operated by the City of Manitowoc. Privately owned Flock systems installed by businesses or property owners are not affected.
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Nickels said Manitowoc has not experienced the issues reported elsewhere involving Flock Safety or its technology. Still, he said recent local and national scrutiny has raised questions about data management, access and potential misuse.
"These developments have understandably generated doubt among residents and local officials," Nickels said in the release. "Even though our department has long maintained stringent safeguards, review processes and access controls, it is essential that any technology we use continues to uphold the highest levels of security, privacy and public confidence."
Nickels said the technology has helped solve crimes, support investigations, recover property and keep the community safe. But he said the city believes it is "responsible and prudent" to reassess its relationship with the company.
"We want to assure residents that this decision does not stem from any known local misuse, malfunction or policy failure," Nickels said. "Based on everything we have seen, we have no indication that Flock accessed or misused any Manitowoc data in the way alleged elsewhere."
Nickels said the city will continue verifying that as a precaution.
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The decision follows prior Herald Times Reporter coverage that showed Manitowoc residents were divided over the cameras, with some supporting them as a public safety tool and others objecting to what they viewed as a surveillance system on local roads.
At an Aug. 24 Manitowoc Common Council meeting, resident Sean Schimke questioned city officials about the installation of Flock cameras and submitted concerns tied to a Change.org petition he started Aug. 10. Prior reporting showed the petition had drawn more than 800 signatures.
The debate intensified after the Manitowoc Police Department added a link to a Flock transparency portal showing 13 local cameras had logged 175,211 unique plates over a 30-day period, according to prior Herald Times Reporter reporting.
The cameras capture still images of license plates and other vehicle details at fixed locations. Supporters have said the technology can help investigators find stolen vehicles, locate wanted people and solve crimes after they occur. Critics have questioned how much location data communities should collect, retain and share.
Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre had defended the cameras in other local reporting, saying they are an important tool for prosecutors and comparing them to an officer writing down license plates from a fixed location.
LaBre also said the cameras have helped in several cases and that plate information should be used only for law enforcement purposes.
The issue has not been limited to Manitowoc. Prior local coverage has noted that concerns raised by residents also included Flock cameras in Two Rivers, with Schimke's petition describing both Manitowoc and Two Rivers as communities being transformed into "surveillance hubs" without public consent.
Schimke said during the Aug. 24 public input session that he believed taxpayers were being tied to a recurring lease involving cameras in both cities, including 18 in Manitowoc and 12 in Two Rivers.
Manitowoc's decision does not affect Two Rivers, where discussion of the issue is likely to continue. The next Two Rivers City Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 8 in the Council Chambers on the third floor of City Hall, 1717 E. Park St.
Manitowoc's decision comes as other Wisconsin communities and law enforcement agencies have reconsidered or ended use of Flock Safety technology.
Fond du Lac County law enforcement agencies collectively discontinued use of Flock technology one day earlier after other states released local search data, according to reporting by the Fond du Lac Reporter.
On the same day, Winnebago County and Oshkosh-area reporting also reflected the broader regional retreat from Flock Safety, following earlier Oshkosh coverage in which the city ended its Flock contract after Police Chief Dean Smith raised trust and access concerns.
Oshkosh officials previously rescinded a renewed Flock Safety agreement after Smith said the company misrepresented whether the cameras could create a vehicle "heat map," according to The Northwestern's reporting.
Sheboygan officials also have weighed ending their Flock contract, while Appleton, Grand Chute, Kaukauna, Dane County and other communities have faced similar debates over police use, privacy, oversight and data sharing.
The city's current contract with Flock Safety runs through early 2027. Nickels said city officials will determine in the coming months, as part of the budget process, whether to continue, modify or discontinue the contract and whether to evaluate alternatives.
Nickels said, "Our commitment is to ensure the Manitowoc Police Department has effective tools to keep the community safe while maintaining full transparency and respect for the privacy of the residents we serve."
Contact Brandon Reid at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc deactivates city-owned Flock Safety cameras