Santa Barbara City Council Delays Decision on Flock Camera Replacement

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara City Council is holding off on a decision about replacing the city’s Flock Safety license-plate reader cameras, giving residents more time to weigh in on the future of automated license plate recognition technology.

The decision comes after a packed council meeting Tuesday, where residents and community advocates raised concerns about privacy, data security and the potential for surveillance technology to be accessed by outside agencies.

The city’s contract with Flock Safety recently expired after the city used 12 automated license-plate reader cameras to help police investigate crimes, locate stolen vehicles and identify suspect vehicles.

City staff had recommended replacing those cameras with 12 license-plate readers from Verkada.

The proposed Verkada system would keep the data under the city’s control, rather than allowing it to be part of a broader shared network.

But privacy advocates urged the council not to move forward with another surveillance contract.

“I would ask that you not plunge into another contract that threatens the privacy of our people and is part of a mass surveillance system,” said local activist Marcy Winograd.

Others told the council that license-plate readers remain an important tool for public safety.

“I'm addressing council to ensure that our police department has the tools and technology to do its job effectively,” said Robin Elander of the Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association. “It is critically important to allocate resources and tools to be able to prevent and solve crimes for our community.”

Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez said some residents in his district have been asking for additional security for years.

“There’s certain areas in my district where consistently the residents, since 2018, since I've been involved with City Council, have asked for more security,” Gutierrez said, pointing to requests for additional police presence or some form of surveillance.

But Councilmember Kristen Sneddon said the issue goes beyond how Santa Barbara police use the technology.

“This is about the ability of data to be breached, the ability for data to be used in very targeted and various ways,” Sneddon said. “It's about federal overreach. It's about regional overreach.”

Residents echoed those concerns.

“The biggest concern is the fact that the federal government and federal agencies, and literally anyone who has capabilities to hack technology can access this information, which puts all of us in danger,” said Santa Barbara resident Ana Garcia.

Santa Barbara Police Chief Kelly Gordon acknowledged that Verkada experienced data breaches in 2020 and 2021, but said the company made significant security changes afterward.

Gordon also defended the technology as an important investigative tool for police.

“Similar to kidnapping and other pieces where that vehicle and that license plate is the key piece of evidence. It's an investigative lead,” Gordon said.

The discussion also prompted council members to consider whether Santa Barbara’s policy governing automated license-plate recognition technology needs to be updated.

Councilmember Eric Friedman said he was open to revisiting the city’s policy.

Ultimately, the council decided to hold off on making a decision about the proposed surveillance system and allow more time for public input and consideration of alternatives.

The debate is expected to continue as Santa Barbara weighs the benefits of license-plate readers for public safety against concerns over privacy, data security and government surveillance.

The Santa Barbara Police Department’s Flock contract is separate from Flock cameras operated by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.