Iowa Public Radio reported that the Cedar Rapids Police Department's contract with Flock ends in February and won't be renewed. The city wants to replace those Flock cameras with automated license plate readers from Axon.
Mayor Tiffany O'Donnell, Councilor Dale Todd and three police representatives held a public information session at the Cedar Rapids Public Library on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, to explain the choice.
Will Cedar Rapids drivers see different cameras?
Police said the number of cameras would not increase and that locations will largely remain the same. The figures given at the meeting were:
- The Flock contract ends in February.
- Axon Outpost plate readers would replace the Flock cameras.
- The city currently has 70 plate readers, according to Capt. Cody Estling, about one per 20 miles of road.
- Police said the number of cameras would not increase.
The plan covers the Cedar Rapids Police Department's cameras. Plate readers run by other agencies or businesses aren't part of it. To see what agencies publish about their systems, check the transparency records.
Who can access the plate data?
Capt. Doug Doyle said Axon doesn't keep a central hub of license plate data, and local departments keep it themselves. "We are the only ones who have access to that," Doyle said. "Axon doesn't have access to that system unless we grant it to them."
Doyle said Axon was granted access only during setup, and that access is removed afterward. Police also said the department does not share data with federal agencies like ICE. Some in the audience groaned, laughed and said they didn't believe the officials.
Flock runs a nationwide lookup database and says sharing is optional for local agencies. Other communities have found that Flock shared data when it said it wouldn't, or that agencies were sharing nationally without realizing it. For background on how these systems log and share scans, see how plate readers work.
What happens next?
Officials planned to answer audience questions during the last hour of the meeting. Attendees kept interrupting, so officials cut the formal process short and spent the last half hour speaking with residents directly.
O'Donnell promised the city would read all submitted questions and post answers on an FAQ page on its website the week after the meeting. The Flock contract ends in February.
Watch for the FAQ page, and check the camera map to see where plate readers are mapped in the area.