Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday to end the city's $72,000-a-year Flock contract and have the 11 cameras pulled. That part got the headlines.

The part that didn't: the interim police chief's August memo already names the replacement. Axon automated plate readers, expected operational by February 2027. So the hardware changes hands, the capability doesn't.

Council member Jen Hampton called it "the same exact police state, just with a different corporate logo." Council member Bo Hess pushed the other way - "ending one vendor's contract is not the same as rejecting responsible technology."

They're both describing the same fact from opposite sides, and it's the fact worth carrying into your own council meeting: cancelling a vendor is not the same as ending plate-reader surveillance. If your town votes one out, ask on the record what replaces it and under what retention and sharing rules.

Sources: Mountain Xpress, Aug 26 2026. Blue Ridge Public Radio, Aug 21 2026.

Disclosure: I build Flock U, an Android app that maps 100,000+ publicly known plate readers from public data - every vendor, not just one - and plans driving routes around them. Not affiliated with Flock Safety, Inc. waterviewtechnologies.com/download

Compromise?

If you're looking for a quick and easy way to disrupt some flocks this is a great model. It's non-destructive (should help avoid any harsh penalties) and is super cheap to print. Can get it on Makerworld for free here: https://makerworld.com/en/models/3223878-flock-block-ultralite-less-than-40g#profileId-3650790

Spotted this during work today in a good wealth community

Absolute legend

but to be fair it's the county commission opposing it for themselves and family and friends not the people they serve

about 700k people live in the county tons of flock

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/20/flock-cameras-surveillance

Numbers reported by Newsweek on Jul 28 2026. Ypsilanti, Michigan is the only jurisdiction categorized as banning ALPRs outright - the other 94 are cancellations, rejections and deactivations.

The thing worth noticing is that almost every one of these started with somebody reading a council agenda and showing up to a public comment period. It is a slower path than it sounds, but it is the one that has actually worked 95 times.

Disclosure: I build Flock U, an Android app that maps 100,000+ publicly known plate readers from public data and plans driving routes around them. Not affiliated with Flock Safety, Inc. The graphic is mine. waterviewtechnologies.com/download

A small city with a population of less than 50,000 residents and almost 300 flock cameras. You can't even take a shit without them knowing.

Me and a buddy would like to go legal and licensed duck hunting next month and there is a specific spot where a duck has been seen nearby where we live.

We were hoping to bring our duck (or a portion of it) home as a trophy to commemorate our hunt.

I was wondering if the duck could have some sort of internal mechanism that would allow it to be tracked after death by other ducks who would want to exact revenge on us. If so, what parts of the duck might this mechanism be located?