Misuse of Chandler Flock data leads to termination of traffic cameras

The move makes Chandler the largest city in Arizona to discontinue its partnership with Flock Safety, a controversial company that supplies technology like automated license plate readers, or ALPRs.

A news release Friday said a routine audit of the Flock data identified an "anomaly in the use of the Flock system that could not be explained through standard police action."

The statement added that no one, Chandler resident or otherwise, "had their privacy compromised."

"Nobody wants temporary security in exchange for the encroachment of their freedom," City Councilmember OD Harris said. Harris had been a vocal opponent of Flock cameras, saying, "The Flock cameras actually erode and take away from our very securities and our very freedom."

The termination follows a long and tumultuous City Council meeting in May during which the Council discussed the renewal of a $153,400 contract with Flock Safety. The council ultimately decided to delay voting on the renewal until Aug. 13.

Now, a public City Council vote on the renewal won't happen. The reason the contract was before the council in the first place was because any contract above $100,000 needs approval from the City Council. Chandler spokesperson Matthew Burdick said not renewing a contract can be an administrative decision.

"Our public pressure campaign was extremely effective," Nathan Taylortaft, the co-director of East Valley Unite, said. His organization played a key role in galvanizing a large crowd at the May meeting.

"It's important that we continue this momentum and push for an ordinance preventing the city from simply continuing this mass surveillance under the name of a different company," Taylortaft said.

Chandler had 40 fixed-camera ALPRs provided by Flock Safety. The use of the cameras began in March 2024 as part of a pilot project. Initially, the city had 14 cameras but expanded to 40 cameras in May 2025.

In recent years, Flock has increasingly been scrutinized for allowing federal agencies, including U.S. Border Patrol, to access data without some police departments' explicit approval — something the company adamantly denies. Another concern opponents of Flock expressed was the possibility of a mass surveillance network.

The cameras will remain standing as the Chandler Police Department coordinates with Flock Safety to remove them. It was unclear whether the cameras were on or when they would be removed.

Chapman said that access to Flock Safety data had been restricted within the Police Department.

"We are not operating in the Flock system, and our employees don't have access to those cameras or databases," he said.

It was unknown whether Chandler would pursue a contract with another vendor, like Axon. In Tempe, the Police Department was part of a pilot program to test-run Axon's ALPR cameras.

Chandler's decision comes after the Pinal County Sheriff's Office also decided not to renew the contract.

"Let's be clear that this is being done out of an abundance of caution and erring on the side of transparency," City Councilmember and Mayor-elect Matt Orlando said.

'Anomaly' leads to discontinuing contract

Chapman said this was the first time in three years that the audit found an "anomaly."

The Police Department audits Flock data every 30 days, every quarter and every year, he said.

It was unclear what exactly was meant by "anomaly." An internal investigation was ongoing, and Chapman declined to offer specifics.

"Part of that investigation will be to determine if Flock was used inappropriately, and, if so, discipline will follow," Chapman said. He did not mention whether the person had been suspended or terminated already.

Orlando said that, to his knowledge, only one employee was involved.

"I urge us not to generalize this to the entire Police Department, or make any assumptions about the situation until the investigation is completed," he said.

Chapman said 200 personnel previously had access to some of the data. The department employs about 560 sworn and civilian officers.

The anomaly was found Thursday, Chapman said, and the announcement of the contract termination was announced Friday. Chapman said that the decision was not "made in a silo."

"Certainly, this slows down our investigative capacities, but importantly, ALPR is one piece of a technology layer that we use to investigate and handle calls for service every single day," he said. "Ultimately, the best part of any technology centers on the men and women behind it."

Burdick said the next step is to evaluate and strengthen safeguards related to the use of such data. Those safeguards would be presented to the City Council before any discussion about bringing the technology back.