SURPRISE, AZ — The City of Surprise has announced it's canceling its contract with Flock Safety and requesting the removal of all related equipment.
The city tells ABC15 it made the request on August 13.
The City of Surprise previously suspended the use of its automated license plate readers (ALPR) after an audit identified an anomaly in the use of the system. This is the fourth Valley city to announce it discovered potential misuse of its Flock Safety system in less than a week.
A Surprise Police Officer was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. The city will also evaluate possible additional safeguards for the vehicle location system, which captures license plate and car description data and stores it on the cloud for future law enforcement use.
"As we look to continue the use of this public safety tool, we want strong safeguards in place that not only alert of misuse but also prevent it,” said Surprise Police Chief Evan Becher.
“Surprise Police Department is committed to ensuring enhanced protections are in place before reimplementing use of ALPR cameras.”
According to the Surprise Police Department, the technology has been used to help solve many local crimes, including homicides, robberies and carjackings.
Chandler recently announced it was ending its use of Flock automated license plate readers after an audit found unexplained activity involving the system.
Also, the City of Tempe ended automatic data sharing from Flock Safety's automated license plate readers — also known as ALPRs — and launched an online transparency portal displaying how the technology is used in response to community concerns over privacy and recent misuse within other Valley law enforcement agencies.
The Goodyear Police Department is investigating whether an officer misused Flock automated license plate readers system, making it the third Valley police agency in less than a week to report suspected violations involving the A.I. vehicle locator tool.
An Apache Junction police officer resigned before he could be terminated following an internal investigation that found he improperly used Automated License Plate Reader technology to locate a family member.
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