Grass Valley police remove Flock cameras again after unexpected reinstallations

Flock license plate cameras removed by Grass Valley police are being reinstalled around the city despite the department canceling its contract with the company, police said Sunday.

Residents alerted the department after spotting a utility truck replacing cameras at several locations. Police said officers have already disconnected at least two reinstalled cameras and are monitoring other sites to remove any that return.

Grass Valley police took down all of the city's Flock cameras after announcing last month that it was ending its use of the automated license plate readers. The department said it sent termination notices to Flock by email and certified mail but has not received a response.

Police believe the cameras are being replaced as part of maintenance work that was scheduled under the now-canceled contract. Officials said they are working to resolve the cancellation paperwork and stop any additional service visits.

Police Chief Alex Gammelgard announced Aug. 11 that the department would stop using automated license plate readers after reviewing concerns about warrantless data collection, privacy protections, data retention and how information can be shared with government and non-government entities. The decision followed months of pressure from residents and privacy advocates.

Grass Valley had used Flock technology since 2021. Similar automated license plate reader systems remain widely used by law enforcement agencies across the Sacramento region, even as privacy and surveillance concerns have become a recurring issue at local government meetings.

Flock Safety has not publicly commented on why the cameras were reinstalled after Grass Valley police said the city canceled its contract.