Lexington residents organized against the city’s use of Flock license plate readers called on leaders to end the standing contract with the artificial intelligence surveillance company at Thursday’s Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government meeting.
Flock cameras, and other brands of automated license plate readers, use AI to capture images of license plates and other details of passing vehicles. The intended use is to detect and report stolen vehicles and other crimes to local police departments.
Lexington uses 125 Flock cameras citywide, according to its website. The city says it places them based on crime reports and uses them to gather leads, and not for neighborhood enforcement, with the highest concentration of cameras located around the East End.
The city council isn’t discussing any changes related to Flock cameras, but widespread outcry has resulted in grassroots campaigns nationwide for cities to end contracts with Flock over privacy concerns. Lexington entered a pilot partnership with Flock in 2022 and extended it in 2024.
“You've seen before you a room full of people from every political and socioeconomic class. There are Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Democratic Socialists, Greens, and Independents, all standing shoulder to shoulder to oppose action that this governing body has taken,” Clay Davis, who directs local anti-surveillance group We See You Watching Lexington, told council members.
Council member Emma Curtis told residents before the public comment period she does not believe Lexington police have misused Flock data, but does have concerns with the system.
“I believe, based on all of the information that I have seen, both prior and during my time in office, that Flock is not a corporation that acts in good faith or is worthy of our collective trust,” she said. “I also believe that these cameras have far greater potential for collective harm than they do for collective good.”
Residents worried the data captured by Flock cameras could be misused and contribute to mass surveillance. Earlier this week, a Shively police officer was arrested and suspended without pay for allegedly using Flock to track and harass a woman in Kentucky and Indiana.
Others expressed concern that vehicles mistakenly tagged by the Flock camera AI could result in traumatic and unnecessary encounters with police.
“They hold great potential for abuse, whether by federal agencies, massive corporations, cyberattackers, or authorized users abusing their authority, which the council cannot realistically hope to regulate,” Noah Cornett, co-chair of the Bluegrass Democratic Socialists of America, told council members. “We are especially troubled by the likelihood of such abuses being directed against our most vulnerable neighbors, including immigrants, people of color, and victims of domestic abuse.”
A small number of commenters spoke in favor of Flock, citing a drop in crime in certain Lexington neighborhoods. Resident Lisa Guess argued the Lexington Police Department has strong enough oversight measures to combat privacy concerns.
“We should not remove a proven public safety resource from responsible officers because individuals elsewhere abused the access to similar technology,” she said. “Instead, we should maintain strong policies, oversight and accountability while allowing LPD to continue using a tool that has demonstrated its value to our community.”
An online petition from Deflock the Bluegrass asking the city to end its contract with Flock has more than 300 signatures as of Friday.
Multiple cities in northern Kentucky, including Independence, Fort Mitchell, Newport and Erlanger have all recently ended their contracts with Flock over similar concerns.
According to the Lexington-Herald Leader, Lexington Police Department officers, investigators and real-time intelligence center analysts have access to the Flock database, which is audited quarterly.
Flock has been tied to an officer-involved shooting in Lexington after a camera alerted police to a vehicle tied to Brooks Plemmons, a North Carolina man with felony warrants relating to domestic violence, earlier this year. Three officers shot at Plemmons after attempting a traffic stop. He later died at UK HealthCare. The incident is being investigated by Kentucky State Police.
