Bloomington is cutting ties with Flock Safety, the license-plate reader company that has been under the microscope at City Hall for months. Officials confirmed Wednesday that the city will not renew its contract, which expired on March 5, 2026, and will instead wind down its use of Flock while exploring other tools that they say strike a better balance between public safety and privacy.
In a city statement, Mayor Kerry Thomson said that "if this tool is used, it must be used under narrow parameters and strong accountability," while Police Chief Michael Diekhoff framed the goal as supporting "good police work with tools that are effective, carefully governed, and understood by the public," according to FOX59.
During the transition, the city says only sworn Bloomington Police Department officers and analysts will be able to access Flock data, and the information will no longer be shared with outside agencies. Footage that is not logged as evidence will typically be kept for 30 days, unless it becomes part of a criminal case.
Council Pushed For Oversight
In early March, the Bloomington Common Council unanimously adopted a resolution that hit pause on any expansion of automated license-plate readers until members got a full briefing. The measure directs the mayor and police chief to deliver a plain-language packet covering how many devices are in use, contract terms, and the rules on retention and access. The full text is posted by the Bloomington Common Council.
Documents And A Records Fight
Behind the scenes, a records battle was brewing. Local reporters and public-records advocates say the city first released heavily redacted contracts and invoices, and that an unredacted mobile-trailer contract only surfaced after repeated follow-ups. Reporting shows the trailer deal came in at roughly $50,000, and that the tug-of-war over disclosure helped set the stage for the broader review. B Square Bulletin walked readers through the documents and the city's explanation for what it blacked out.
Why Flock Matters Beyond Bloomington
Flock Safety pitches a turnkey, networked system of license-plate readers now deployed by thousands of agencies, and the company argues its platform helps solve serious crimes. Flock Safety has leaned into broad adoption, but the same networked data has raised alarms about how easily other agencies can reach into local systems.
Audits and investigative reporting on cross-agency access and data sharing have prompted some jurisdictions to pause or rethink their own Flock agreements, as detailed by Government Technology.
What The City Says About Safeguards
City attorneys and police leaders point to procedural limits such as searches tied to case numbers, individual log-ins, training requirements and routine audits as the main guardrails intended to keep the system from being abused. Records released during the public-records fight, along with local coverage, show the administration has consistently defended a short retention window and its audit practices, while critics push for firm, vendor-agnostic rules that would apply no matter which company is providing the tech.
Those documents and the surrounding coverage were laid out by B Square Bulletin and in public archives.
What To Watch Next
Next Wednesday, Chief Diekhoff is set to deliver a detailed report on Flock usage, alongside a memo from the mayor, to the Bloomington Common Council. That meeting is expected to be the moment when council members decide whether to push for binding rules or a formal ordinance to govern license-plate readers going forward.
City officials say they will be vetting other technologies and vendors while they build a governance framework designed to prevent scope creep and safeguard civil liberties, according to FOX59. Community groups and privacy advocates, who have been pressing on this issue for months, say they will be paying close attention to what the council does next.
