Last week, the Dane County Board of Supervisors approved 2025 RES-403, amending the 2026 county budget to remove $80,000 in funding for the Dane County Sheriff’s Office use of the Flock automatic license plate reader (ALPR) system and prohibiting further expenditures on the system.
“There are well-documented concerns about how this company operates and uses its technology to violate people’s 4th Amendment rights,” said County Board Chair Patrick Miles in a county news release. “The board’s action supports protecting our community from a proven bad actor. We have full confidence in our Sheriff and deputies, and we are open to considering other companies that have stronger safeguards in place. At a time when Flock, some of its law enforcement partners, and federal immigration enforcement agencies have been found to collect and misuse personal information for tracking and surveillance in ways that violate constitutional rights, the board has a responsibility to act.”
The resolution cites growing concerns raised by residents, policymakers, and privacy experts about reported and verified abuses of data collected through Flock’s ALPR network, including informal data-sharing with federal agencies that bypasses oversight and accountability measures. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office had granted access to information gathered by the office’s 24 Flock cameras to more than 140 law enforcement agencies, including some in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, and Tennessee…