Asheville City Council Terminates Flock Safety Camera Contract

Asheville City Council has voted to terminate its contract with Flock Safety, leading to the removal of license plate reader cameras from the city. This decision, made with a 5-2 vote on August 25, means city employees must immediately stop using the Flock system and all associated hardware will be taken down, as reported by Asheville.com. For drivers in Asheville, this means a significant change in the local surveillance landscape, as these cameras will no longer track vehicle movements.

The council's action also initiates a broader review of future surveillance technology use within Asheville. This review aims to establish guidelines for oversight and privacy safeguards, ensuring any potential future systems align with community expectations. You can learn more about how these systems generally operate and their implications at our /learn section.

What happens to the cameras now?

The resolution directs the city manager to end the agreement and remove all equipment related to the Flock Safety contract. City employees are barred from accessing or sharing information from the Flock system during this termination process. Data already collected must be managed according to legal and records-retention rules, but cannot be accessed or shared through the Flock system by city staff.

Key actions from the council's decision:

• Immediate contract termination with Flock Safety.
• Suspension of city employee access to the Flock system.
• Removal of all associated camera hardware.
• Initiation of a policy review for future surveillance technology.

How will this affect drivers in Asheville?

With the removal of Flock Safety cameras, drivers in Asheville will no longer have their license plates scanned and data stored by this specific system. This change impacts where and how vehicle data is collected and used by the city. It's a direct result of the council's decision to re-evaluate the role of automated surveillance in the community.

The city's account of the vote and further details are available in the City of Asheville’s August 25 council meeting summary. This summary also links to official meeting materials and a recording of the session. The next step involves the city manager overseeing the contract termination and equipment removal, alongside the development of new surveillance policy recommendations.