Title
Calling upon the City of Saint Paul and Ramsey County to end their contracts with Flock Safety.
Body
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul currently uses Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras that collect and store information about vehicles traveling throughout our community, and the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office owns additional Flock cameras located within Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, the use of Flock ALPR technology raises significant concerns about privacy, mass surveillance, data sharing, and the potential use of locally collected information by other law enforcement agencies; and
WHEREAS, Operation Metro Surge demonstrated the real-world consequences of expansive government surveillance and the importance of protecting Saint Paul residents from the misuse or inappropriate sharing of their personal information; and
WHEREAS, Saint Paul has a responsibility to protect its residents, build community trust, and invest in strategies that make neighborhoods safer without creating systems of mass surveillance; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council calls upon the City Administration and its Ramsey County partners to:
A. Take all legally and contractually permissible steps to terminate the City's existing contracts with Flock Safety and remove existing Flock cameras, and work with Ramsey County to end the use of Flock cameras owned by the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office within Saint Paul;
B. Not enter into, renew, extend, or expand any contract with Flock Safety or deploy additional Flock ALPR cameras, and call upon Ramsey County to take the same action with respect to its Flock Safety contracts and cameras; and
C. Report to the City Council within 60 days on the status of the City's Flock contracts, steps taken toward termination, and the City's plan to protect residents from inappropriate use or sharing of ALPR data, including coordination with Ramsey County partners; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council calls upon the City Administration and Ramsey County partners to prioritize community investment, effective public safety strategies, and protections for residents’ privacy and civil liberties over the expansion of surveillance technology.