US Cities Cancel Flock Contracts, but the Company Keeps the Cameras Up

A growing number of US cities are canceling their contracts with Flock Safety, a company that supplies surveillance cameras, but some are finding it difficult to actually end the arrangement. According to the technology site The Verge, the company does not always take its cameras down and in some cases has put them back into service.

Plymouth, Minnesota

The city council of Plymouth, Minnesota, voted in September to terminate its contract with Flock. The company did not respond to the request, and for more than a month the cameras stayed up with no acknowledgment from Flock. Police Chief Eric Fadden then instructed staff to disconnect the cameras' power cords.

He told The Drive that after hearing nothing for over a week, he ordered the cords unplugged to make sure the cameras were not working or recording license plates.

Dayton, Minnesota

About 20 miles away, Dayton, also in Minnesota, faces a different problem. There the company acknowledged the city's request and said removing the equipment could take up to 60 days. Even so, Flock reconnected two cameras inside the city limits without authorization, after local police had specifically asked that a work order not be carried out.

The city government said on Facebook that the police department learned on September 17 of a maintenance work order issued by Flock. On September 18 the city told the company the program was on hold and that no work orders should be completed. The city said its instruction was not followed and a camera was returned to service without permission.

A similar case in Illinois

The episodes echo an earlier one in Illinois, where the company refused to take down cameras and uncovered cameras at Elgin Community College after the school's administration tried to cancel its contract. Flock did not immediately respond to a request for comment.