Ardmore residents could soon get the final say on whether the city keeps its network of automated license plate readers, with city commissioners set to take up the Flock Safety camera issue during their September 21 meeting. The discussion comes weeks after commissioners voted to renew the contract, a decision that sparked a recall petition against the officials who supported it.
According to News 9, city officials are expected to discuss whether the future of the cameras should be placed in voters' hands at the upcoming meeting. Ardmore entered a 24-month contract with Atlanta-based Flock Safety to install 13 cameras, according to the City of Ardmore.
That original footprint is now at the center of a political fight. The Ardmore City Commission voted in August to approve a contract renewal with Flock Safety, according to KXII-TV. Following the vote, Ardmore organizers and local attorneys launched a petition campaign seeking to recall the commissioners who backed the renewal, according to KTEN.
A Regional Pattern of Camera Pushback
Ardmore is not the only Oklahoma town wrestling with the technology. In neighboring Marietta, the city council voted unanimously in August to terminate its Flock Safety camera contract after residents voiced privacy concerns, KXII-TV reported. That decision offered another example of local pushback over the technology.
The debate has played out on a bigger stage in the state capital as well. The Oklahoma City Council voted 5-3 in August to renew its $270,000 Flock Safety contract for 90 cameras amid public boos, while voluntarily shortening data retention from 30 days to 7 days and disabling national data sharing, according to FOX 25. The station also reported on the Oklahoma City vote in September.
The Legal Path to a Ballot Vote
Any effort to force Ardmore's Flock question onto a public ballot would have to clear a specific legal bar. Title 11 §15-103 addresses municipal referendum petitions, according to Justia.
Flock Safety itself has been adjusting its practices amid the scrutiny. The company instituted platform-wide policy updates in August requiring law enforcement officers to enter valid criminal case numbers before conducting searches and reducing recommended data retention to seven days, per the Associated Press. The changes came amid scrutiny of Flock's practices.
What Critics and Lawmakers Point To
Privacy advocates have argued that mass vehicle surveillance can capture far more innocent drivers than criminal suspects.
The concerns extend beyond individual city halls. Broad vehicle scanning has raised questions about statutory boundaries as more cities adopt the systems.
For now, Ardmore's next move rests with its city commission. Whether commissioners choose to send the Flock camera question directly to voters, or whether the recall petition against the officials who approved the renewal gathers enough momentum first, will likely become clearer after the September 21 meeting.
