Take Action!

Writing, texting, or calling your City Council representative or Mayor Terry Crow is an excellent way to make U City Goverment understand just how many people oppose the use of ALPR technology in this community.

You can find your Councilmember’s and Mayor Crow’s contact information here.

Not sure which ward you’re in? Check the map.

Email Template

Subject: Remove ALPR cameras from University City!

Text:

Dear Councilmember [councilmember’s name] OR Mayor Crow,

My name is [your name] and I live at [your address]. I am writing to you with concerns about our city’s use of Flock Safety and other ALPR cameras, especially in regards to the increasing reports of their misuse, poor security, and data sharing with federal agencies. Cities across the U.S. are cancelling their contracts with them due to these, and other, concerns. This camera system creates a massive, national database of all of our movements and allows departments and agencies across the U.S. access to sensitive location data for local residents without their knowledge, violating a reasonable expectation of privacy.

News outlets and privacy groups have reported on several major issues with this company and how they operate.

Out of state enforcement: Police in Texas have used Flock Safety to track women seeking reproductive health services. With access to 100,000+ cameras, authorities can track residents for enforcement of out of state laws.

Federal access to data: While Flock Safety has said it does not share data with federal agencies, records have shown other agencies using Flock’s data on behalf of ICE and other organizations. This expands the federal government’s violent actions against immigrants and U.S. citizens as we’ve seen in other cities.

Tracking protected speech: Data from public records requests have shown law enforcement explicitly searching for traffic around protests and first amendment-protected speech.

Personal misuse of data: Police across the U.S. have misused these tools – including an officer tracking his ex-girlfriend and another selling data to a private company. Illegal and invasive use of these systems from individuals far outside Missouri can put local residents in harm’s way.

Poor Security: Flock has seen multiple news cycles highlighting their poor security, with projects like haveibeenflocked.com making the results of 80 million Flock searches public and a video from 404 Media and Benn Jordan showing the company had left admin access and live streams from their devices publicly available online.

While I understand the need for public safety and supplying the city with tools they need, Flock Safety puts people at risk and violates the privacy of local residents and the neighbors who visit and work in our community. Cities in New York, Virginia, Oregon, California, North Carolina, Texas, Illinois, Arizona and other states have dropped plans to use Flock Safety or decided to cancel contracts with them over these and other concerns.

I encourage you to cancel our city’s contract with Flock Safety or other ALPR vendors, and to remove these cameras from the community to ensure the safety and privacy of residents and our neighbors.

Thank you,

[your name]

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