Bloomington’s city council unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday night that will give the mayor’s office and Bloomington’s chief of police six weeks to provide a briefing on the city’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) program.

The briefing pertains to the city’s contracts with Flock Safety, which operates license plate-reading cameras and related equipment.

The resolution directs the police department to detail how access to the data is controlled, auditing practices, data sharing and costs of ALPR equipment used. It also imposes an immediate pause on any ALPR program expansion until the briefing is completed.

At the end of January, residents protested the use of Flock cameras for its potential to be used in immigration enforcement. Mayor Kerry Thomson has acknowledged residents’ concerns and stated it’s tightly controlled and used for targeted investigations, not general surveillance.

In a previous interview with WFIU News, BPD Chief Mike Diekhoff defended the use of Flock cameras as being used to help solve crimes, including two murders and a rape.

Read more: Police chief acknowledges Flock flaws but defends contract

Flock cameras were installed in Bloomington in 2024.

Bloomington and Flock have said they do not work with ICE but in other states like Colo., ICE was able to access Flock indirectly.

Council President Isak Nti Asare said the resolution is the due diligence required to be able to make informed decisions on ALPR.

He said the central question is not about if public safety matters, but how it is pursued specifically with the use of technology.

“I know that right now this sort of reaction is to a particular vendor, and I have particular thoughts about the particular vendor, but we need to think of a broader sense that it's not just a concern with this vendor, but about the use and governance of this technology in Bloomington at all,” Asare said. “And so to me the deeper question is whether institutions are prepared to govern technologies that will only become more powerful, more common over time.”

In public comment, several residents wanted to end the city’s contract with Flock. They raised concerns about safety, privacy and increased risk to marginalized individuals.
A couple of residents held signs that stated, “CUT THE CONTRACT” and “DIVEST FROM FLOCK.”

Sarah Owen of Exodus Refugee Immigration said she understands wanting to maintain public safety.

“But the more that our city invests in data collection with profit driven companies and fails to take a firm stand on our community's basic rights, the less likely our immigrant community will feel safe to utilize police for when they themselves are victims of crime,” Owen said.

She also noted the impact Senate Bill 76 could have on Flock data. SB 76 would require law enforcement agencies to comply with federal immigration enforcement. The Senate passed the bill and it is headed to the Governor’s office.

“What are you going to do, not if, but when, the state comes to collect Flock data to track down the next 5-year-old child and place them in a detention center,” Owen said. “Or perhaps the child's father, whom they may never see again. Please don't look away at what has happened in this country.”

Lilliana Young, a candidate for the Indiana House of Representatives in District 61, said the city should have given residents an opportunity to comment on the program before it started.

“I hope you are hearing us tonight that we do not want these systems in our city … and putting limitations in place simply isn't enough,” Young said.

Residents also stated they hoped Thomson would have been present for the discussion at the meeting. It is up to her to make any changes. Thomson was present earlier in the meeting for an agenda item pertaining to the Hopewell neighborhood.

Read more: Bloomington's Thomson on not closing Kirkwood, annexation, Flock

Council member Hopi Stosberg said her stance on Flock cameras has shifted in the last few months from seeing the benefits to now seeing the consequences. That especially the case, she said, with SB 76 requiring law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officers.

She said she does trust BPD to collect and use the data properly.

Council member Isabel Piedmont-Smith reiterated the letter she sent to Thomson last month. Piedmont-Smith said it’s local elected officials’ responsibilities to uphold civil rights.

“There’s no way we can guarantee that data collected by a third party will not be misused, nor can we guarantee that the security of this data won’t be compromised,” she said. “Flock Safety in particular has a poor record in these areas.”

Council member Dave Rollo said we are living in a society that needs to push back on total surveillance.

“I think that the case has been made tonight that we don't need this, we don't need Flock cameras, and we should think of defunding it,” Rollo said. “And so that's what I look to as the next step.”