8 Oct 30th-NOv 5th, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Homeland Security Investigations — previ- ously could access some Flock cameras through a now-defunct pilot program with the company. Baxter-Ging could not say for certain that ICE or HSI has not accessed the city’s data, either through the pilot program or by way of a third- party searching the Flock network on its behalf. Various Arizona police departments have said previously that ICE has not been accessing the data collected from their Flock cameras. However, one city in Washington state condemned U.S. border patrol agents for doing just that without authorization. That perceived invasion of privacy — whether immigration-related or not, many people seem skeeved out by knowing that law enforcement agencies are silently tracking their movements with little oversight — has led cities across the state and the country to cancel their contracts with Flock. Residents in Flagstaff and Tucson have clamored for those cities to end their association with Flock, while Sedona has already moved to cancel its contract and has removed its Flock cameras. Nichols wants Tempe to be next. “Flock has been dishonest the whole time and has not been transparent about how the data is being used, where the data is being held and what it’s intended for,” Nichols told New Times in an interview. “I think it’s pretty clear that this is about making money, and their business model is having this massive database of all of our personally identifying information, which can then be accessed by police depart- ments or by DHS and ICE — which is hugely problematic considering some of the abuses we’ve seen by DHS and ICE over the last two years.” Tempe’s contract with Flock began in 2021 and has been renewed several times since. It is now set to run through September 2027. The contract established 10 ALPR cameras throughout the city. In a February 2025 contract modification, the city added three cameras capable of live video, paying $2,750 for installation and $10,250 in annual fees. According to financial information shared in a council meeting packet, the city paid more than $89,000 to Flock in July, which Baxter-Ging said was an annual contract payment. Baxter-Ging declined to say how many cameras are currently in use. “To maintain community security, the number and locations of these cameras are kept confidential,” she wrote to New Times via email. Privacy concerns Privacy concerns about the Flock cameras, and the potential for their unintended use by ICE, could become a major issue in the city’s March 2026 elections. Tempe City Council elections are at-large elections, meaning if Nichols is a top-three vote- getter, he’ll win a seat. Three incumbents are up for reelection. Nichols said voters he’s spoken to have been highly concerned when informed about Tempe’s contract with the company. “Once you get people to understand that these aren’t just speeding ticket cameras or standard license plate readers, people are pretty freaked out,” Nichols said. “There are multiple layers of potential privacy violations there.” The company’s lack of guardrails leaves its network of cameras ripe for abuse. Law enforcement entities do not have to enter a specific case number to run a search and sometimes list no reason at all. One police chief in Kansas used a Flock network search to track his ex-girlfriend. “Abuse of Flock cameras is inevitable, and Flock has made it clear it takes no responsibility to prevent or detect that,” Wyden wrote in his letter. “For that reason, I must now recommend that communities that have installed Flock cameras reeval- uate that decision.” New Times asked Tempe Mayor Corey Woods if the council will follow Wyden’s advice and consider terminating the contract with Flock. He said the license plate readers were “highly effective” for the police department, but the city would reconsider its contract. “Based on the national response to this issue, we have referred the existing contract to be reviewed by our Data Governance Committee for evaluation,” Woods told New Times via text. “We can determine any further action needed when they have completed their review.” Nichols said he’ll continue to press the issue. “I’ll be fighting to have this contract terminated if it’s not terminated by the time I’m elected,” he said. It’s continued to weigh on him as he campaigns. Flock recently announced that it will partner with Ring, which makes doorbell cameras. “It’s especially interesting going to doors on it now,” Nichols said. “I imagine a lot of these conversations are in the data- base now — so many people use Ring doorbells.” Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said the city council will reevaluate its contract with Flock Safety in the wake of community concerns. (U.S. Department of Labor/Flickr/CC BY 2.0) Big Brother from p 6
