Residents rally to demand Richmond keep Flock cameras on and extend contract

RICHMOND, Calif. (KGO) -- A small group of Richmond residents rallied ahead of Tuesday night's city council meeting in support of extending the Flock Safety's contract and turning its cameras back on.

"Just last week, we had a sideshow that lasted over an hour. Several cars were destroyed. Gun shot reigned freely for over an hour. There were fireworks. Everybody in that community was kept awake for that entire time period," says Philip Rosenthal, describing his neighborhood near downtown Richmond.

He says cops were busy. And couldn't respond. He believes if Richmond's Flock Safety cameras were still operating, there may not have even been a sideshow.

"All you have to do is cross the street from El Cerrito. Now you're in Richmond. You are free to do what you want. We are not even going to try to take your license tag," says Rosenthal.

MORE: Santa Clara County to stop using Flock Safety cameras in several cities after privacy concerns

"We are concerned about the vulnerability it creates for our businesses. If Richmond does not have these cameras and all the nearby cities do," says Oscar Garcia, President of the 23rd Street Merchant Association, one of the largest business districts in the city.

According to data from the Richmond Police Department since installing Flock's automated license plate readers in 2023, there are almost 900 cases that led to the identification of a suspect or suspect's vehicle; 272 people have been arrested; 258 stolen vehicles recovered; police identified suspects cars in 12 homicide cases.

But late last year, Richmond police shut off the Flock cameras after discovering that a "software configuration error unintentionally allowed outside law enforcement agencies" to access its data.

"California... is a sanctuary state. Flock has said that it has now restricted any sharing of data with agencies outside of California," explains City Councilmember Cesar Zepeda.

MORE: East Bay protesters march against ICE operations, Flock camera surveillance

Zepeda supports keeping Flock cameras on and will vote to extend the contact, though admits he has not fully read the city's contract with Flock. He adds Richmond can amend its contract to include concerns over data breaches and over mass surveillance that other Bay Area cities and counties have encountered.

Last week, the City of Mountain View voted unanimously to terminate its contract with Flock Safety after an audit found that, "Mountain View's data had been accessed by federal and state law enforcement agencies in violation of the City's approved policies."

"For example, do we, instead of holding data for 30 days, as we were before. Do we need it for 30 days? Can we do it for 10 days," suggests Zepeda.

The agenda report suggests that the city staff's recommendation is to turn the cameras back on and to extend the contract through the end of the year. There are seven councilmembers including the mayor. They need four votes to pass.

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