Ventura City Council voted 5-2 to terminate the city’s contract with Flock, joining an ever growing list of cities and states around the United States that have ended their contracts and removed Flock cameras.
Ventura Police Chief David Dickey presented an overview report on the city’s automatic license plate reader program during the special meeting and dozens of public commenters provided their thoughts on the issue.
“I am happy to do anything to keep this system, so that we can keep this city safe,” Dickey said.
In August, the City of Santa Barbara voted to terminate their contract with Flock, leading to the subsequent removal of all Flock cameras from the city. In Ventura, thousands of unauthorized queries from out-of-state agencies prompted the city to review their contract with Flock in late September.
The Ventura Police Department operated 23 Flock cameras, at an annual cost of $69,000. According to the staff report prepared by Dickey and Ventura City Manager Bill Ayub, removing the cameras would end up costing over 4 million dollars a year as the police department would need to hire more staff and maintain a fifth patrol beat with 14 additional officers.
However, cost nor value to the police department overrode what several council members described as a threat to members of the Ventura community.
“This has never been about the Ventura Police Department at all,” Deputy Mayor Doug Halter said. “We are working through a major threat of our lifetime, for many parts of our community.”
Ventura Mayor Dr. Jeannette Sánchez-Palacios saw the vote as an opportunity for the community to have control over the data they publicly share—a choice they weren’t previously given with the installation of Flock cameras.
“We have choices to have a phone, we have choices to use the internet, but our choice with the Flock camera has been taken away,” Mayor Sánchez-Palacios said.
Five council members voted to terminate the contract with Flock and to direct staff to put together an informational item on banning the installation of automatic license plate readers in Ventura—with the exception of parking lot cameras.
Councilmembers Liz Campos and Ryyn Schumancher also called for a specific timeline of removal. However, the police department said they will have to contact Flock first before providing a date of removal.
The vote drew applause from the crowd but among the city council, the support for the ban wasn’t unanimous.
“I am really sorry, this is an incredible tool,” Councilmember Jim Duran told Chief David Dickey right before the vote. Duran said that the City Council should wait to take action and see if legislation on Flock and Automatic License Plate Readers comes from the federal or state levels.
Deputy Mayor Doug Halter disagreed, saying that he thinks cities taking local action are more likely to inspire state and federal legislators to take action.
Councilmember Alex Mangone also voted against the contract termination.
“Will the discontinued use of Flock in the city of Ventura make those vulnerable populations feel safer with the current administration in place,” Mangone said. “My gut tells me no.”
Councilmember Bill McReynolds supported the vote, but warned the crowd of the potential consequences.
“If I hear anybody criticizing the police department because of this vote, because the crime statistics went up, I will haunt you,” McReynolds said.
