FORT COLLINS – Fort Collins Police Services is moving ahead with plans to expand its automated license plate reader (ALPR) network, even as residents raise alarms about surveillance and data security.
City records show the department began installing Flock Safety cameras in April and currently operates 10 units, with four more scheduled for deployment.
Assistant Chief Kristy Volesky defended the program in a recent email to a resident and city council, saying “our internal review confirms no unauthorized, non-FCPS users have access to search on the FCPS FLOCK system”, but added, “while Flock operates a broader network, any agency conducting a plate search may see hits from participating agencies’ cameras—including ours.”
A master services agreement signed by the city outlines an initial two-year contract with Flock Group, Inc. The deal includes installation fees ranging from $150 for existing infrastructure to $1,250 for “advanced installs”, and relocation costs up to $2,000 per camera. Replacement cameras due to vandalism or theft cost $800, while solar panel replacements run $350. The agreement also requires Flock to maintain $10 million in umbrella liability coverage and $5 million in cyber liability insurance.
The initial estimated cost for Fort Collins over the two-year term is $96,000, according to figures in the agreement and city purchasing documents.
Under the contract, Flock retains ownership of all hardware and states they delete captured footage on a rolling 30-day basis, however the platform allows for archival of footage
The agreement states the city may terminate the contract without penalty if funds are not appropriated in future budgets.
Internal policy documents emphasize that ALPR alerts alone do not constitute reasonable suspicion or probable cause. Officers must confirm alerts through dispatch and establish additional grounds before initiating a stop. Policy 447 states: “Matches between the scanned information and the hotlist displayed as alerts on the ALPR system DO NOT constitute reasonable suspicion or probable cause for enforcement action.” Data collected during routine patrols is retained for no more than one year, unless linked to an active investigation.
The deployment plan gives Flock discretion to veto camera locations if they do not meet “optimal functionality” standards, and any changes after installation incur additional fees. “Flock will collaborate with Customer to design the strategic geographic mapping of the location(s) and implementation of Flock Hardware,” the agreement says.
Residents remain skeptical. In emails to City Council, Fort Collins residents urged officials to remove the cameras, citing “serious worries about data security, privacy, and the normalization of constant surveillance.” One resident pointed to a recent case in Columbine Valley where an ALPR misread led to an armed police stop of an innocent driver. City leaders say the program is lawful and transparent. But transparency isn’t the same as consensus. The contract allows for expansion, and the technology is quickly evolving.
Upcoming City Council Memo
In an email to city staff, City Councilmember Melanie Potyondy shared an extensive list of questions covering governance, oversight, data retention, civil liberties, and vendor accountability. These questions reflect issues raised by residents and aim to guide the creation of a formal memo for City Council.
Among the key topics Potyondy highlighted:
- Approval and Oversight: How are new camera locations approved, and what public reporting mechanisms exist—or should exist—to share audit results and system effectiveness?
- Data Use and Retention: How long is plate data stored, and what safeguards prevent non-criminal uses such as protest monitoring?
- Interagency Data Sharing: What measures ensure other agencies do not misuse or retain Fort Collins data?
- Civil Liberties: How does the city prevent disproportionate impacts on certain neighborhoods or demographic groups?
- Vendor Accountability: What protections exist for the city in cases of data misuse or false identification? What due diligence was conducted before selecting FLOCK as a vendor, and how is ongoing vendor performance monitored or evaluated?
This move signals a shift toward greater public accountability and invites residents to engage in the conversation. Potyondy’s initiative could lead to policy adjustments, stronger oversight, new public reporting requirements, or possibly the termination or modification of the agreement between the City and Flock.
This story is part of a continuing series about surveillance in Fort Collins. For a map of current Flock cameras and surveillance sites/cameras in Fort Collins, click here.