A Bloomington City Council member is calling on the city to end its contract with Flock Safety, a company that operates license plate-reading cameras.
Isabel Piedmont-Smith said she doesn’t think changes Bloomington could pursue in its contract with the company would protect residents.
“If Mayor Thompson's administration tightens up the contract, I don't trust Flock to follow it, nor to keep camera images and associated data safe in this national context of creeping fascism and increasing loss of personal liberties,” Piedmont-Smith said. “I don't think the city should continue its contract with Flock.”
The Bloomington Police Department signed a contract with Flock for license plate cameras in 2024. Bloomington now has 27 of these cameras, capable of capturing a vehicle’s make, model, color and identifying features such as dents, roof racks and bumper stickers, according to DeFlock, a volunteer-based license plate camera tracking system.
Police Chief Mike Diekhoff told WFIU News the cameras have helped his department solve crimes, including two murders and a rape.
Last week, residents protested Bloomington’s use of the surveillance technology, with demonstrators outside City Hall raising concerns about data security, civil liberties and the potential for the system to be used in immigration enforcement.
At her traveling town hall meeting on Jan. 26, Mayor Kerry Thomson said the City’s use of Flock cameras is being tightly controlled, emphasizing that the technology is being used for targeted investigations, not general surveillance.
“The use is limited and governed locally, and we have the very tightest controls on our Flock systems now, where our Flock cameras are only directly accessed by BPD,” Thomson said. “An outside system could query if a license plate was used here, but they would have to be a law enforcement system.”
Thomson addressed concerns about invasion of privacy and immigration enforcement, saying Bloomington is in discussions with Flock to restrict access to gathered data.
“I'm taking this very seriously, and it is our intention to ensure that law enforcement, including ICE, cannot access our data under any circumstances,” Thomson said.
A Change.org petition calling on the city to end its contract with Flock Safety has garnered over 100 signatures in three days, including councilmember Piedmont-Smith.
The petition argues that Flock’s license plate readers collect data and make the information accessible to law enforcement agencies nationwide, intruding on civil liberties.
“Even when local departments act in good faith, the system itself creates pathways for misuse,” the petition states.
The petition says while Bloomington and Flock might not share information directly with ICE, other agencies can provide the organization information.
“This is not hypothetical — it has already happened in other states,” the petition states. “For immigrant families in Bloomington, that risk alone is enough to create fear, silence, and harm.”
Flock operates a nationwide network of cameras and stores images for up to 30 days. Law enforcement agencies using the system can search license plate numbers or vehicle descriptions across any departments contracted with Flock.
“I share the concern expressed by the members of the public about the city of Bloomington using the company Flock security for license plate cameras and other security cameras,” Piedmont Smith said. “Flock is not trustworthy.”
