Santa Barbara Ends Flock Contract, Will Review Automated Camera Policy

Following a wave of public pushback, the city of Santa Barbara will be reconsidering its policy on automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, opening up a wider public discussion about the future of these types of surveillance systems as the city’s contract with the controversial tech company Flock Safety officially came to an end on August 23.

On Tuesday, City Council held a hearing to deliberate whether the city should replace the Flock cameras with cameras provided by Verkada, a company with a closed-circuit system that is said to prevent any potential data-sharing with outside agencies. City Council originally asked for the contract change last year, after community members expressed concerns that Flock allowed federal agencies to access data for immigration enforcement.

After a lengthy discussion, during which nearly 30 community members spoke against the mass surveillance, City Council changed direction, delaying the new contract until staff reviews the entire automated camera policy. This would mean that the city would not have any automated cameras in the interim period, while the city amends its policy to address privacy concerns and the misuse of automated camera technology.

Almost all of the public commenters agreed, thanking the city for ending its contract with Flock but asking for more caution before signing a contract with a new company.

“I cannot understand why the city is in such a rush to repeat the same mistake you made with Flock,” said Larry Behrendt of Indivisible Santa Barbara. “Thank you, to the city, for getting rid of Flock. Don’t compound that mistake.”

Primitiva Hernandez, executive director of 805 UndocuFund, pointed out that Tuesday’s meeting was held in the middle of the workday, and said the fact that commenters at the council hearing were limited to one-minute remarks prevented any sort of meaningful discussion.

“We are asking for time,” Hernandez said. “Time so we don’t make the same mistake that we did by implementing Flock. We are also asking for a community forum, where we will have the opportunity to share some slides and research, because one minute is not enough.”

Councilmember Meagan Harmon, who raised privacy concerns when the city first drafted its automated camera policy in 2020, said she has seen the public become more worried as the technology has been misused across the country. She believed the city police department was operating with caution, but nationwide, similar camera systems have misidentified suspects, been vulnerable to data breaches, or allowed for abusive partners to stalk their victims.

“Privacy concerns are not going away, they continue to grow,” Councilmember Harmon said. “And it’s important that we continue to have iterative conversations about our use of technology in Santa Barbara.”

Councilmember Wendy Santamaria agreed: “Just because we’re not required to have a public hearing doesn’t mean we shouldn’t,” she said. “I think it’s imperative if we are prioritizing the rebuilding and strengthening of the public’s trust with the city.”

She also wanted to be clear that the council was not accusing local law enforcement of sharing any data. “The fact that the data can be leaked, can be hacked, can be misused — not that it is being misused — but the fact that the possibility is there, is enough to erode the public’s trust in us,” Santamaria said. Police Chief Kelly Gordon confirmed that no outside agency ever accessed collected city information.

Councilmember Kristen Sneddon agreed: “I don’t think we could have seen how far this was going to go. When we adopted this policy, it was a different world.”

Councilmember Eric Friedman and Mike Jordan both supported a more robust public discussion but pointed to the instances where the current camera systems led to the apprehension of violent criminals.

According to the Santa Barbara Police Department, the cameras have been used to locate individuals suspected of child exploitation, human trafficking, distribution of narcotics, and, in one incident, a suspect who had fled the scene of a stabbing.

Without the cameras, Chief Gordon warned, “we would not have the same ability to prevent and make arrests when it comes to human trafficking. That is the reality. I understand the privacy concerns …[but] it is a balance between maintaining privacy and maintaining community public safety.”

The council took no vote, but directed staff to return for an official vote to direct the city administrator to delay a new contract with Verkada. The council would open up a public comment period on that date and return to review public input by the end of the year.