By APD
ALLIANCE, Nebraska — Alliance Police Chief David Leavitt recently withdrew the Police Department's request for funding to purchase and deploy a Flock Safety camera and automated license plate reader (ALPR) system during the City's FY27 budget year.
The Department had been evaluating Flock Safety technology as an investigative and public-safety tool to assist officers in locating stolen vehicles, identifying vehicles associated with serious crimes, locating missing or endangered persons, developing leads in criminal investigations, and providing additional camera coverage in selected public areas.
"I continue to believe strongly in the value of this technology," Chief Leavitt said. "Used appropriately and with strong policies, auditing, training, and accountability, camera and license plate reader systems can be extremely effective public-safety tools. My decision isn't a rejection of the technology. It's a decision that this is the right time for us to pause."
Flock Safety and ALPR technology have received significantly increased public attention and scrutiny nationwide. Some of the controversy has resulted from misunderstandings about what the technology does and does not collect, while other concerns have arisen from isolated cases in which law enforcement personnel or agencies have allegedly misused systems or improperly accessed or shared information.
"The overwhelming majority of law enforcement officers use these systems appropriately, and many of the claims being made about this technology don't accurately reflect how it works," Leavitt said. "At the same time, we can't simply ignore the fact that public concern is real. The narrative surrounding this technology has changed substantially, including here in Nebraska. Public confidence matters, and I think the responsible thing for us to do is allow some time for these issues to develop before making a significant investment."
The rapidly evolving legal and policy environment also contributed to the decision. Questions involving data access, retention, information sharing, privacy protections, and appropriate governmental use continue to receive attention from courts, lawmakers, law enforcement agencies, technology providers, and privacy advocates.
Flock Safety has also continued to strengthen security, auditing, access controls, and other safeguards in response to concerns raised about the technology.
Rather than committing the City to a particular system during the FY27 budget cycle, the Police Department will use the coming year to continue evaluating developments in the technology, the courts, state and federal law, industry security practices, and the experiences of other law enforcement agencies.
The City's current budget environment was also a consideration.
"This is a tight budget year, and part of my responsibility as Chief is deciding which needs we should push hardest to fund," Leavitt said. "Given the rapidly changing environment surrounding this technology, I don't believe this is the year to make this particular investment. There are other priorities where our limited resources can be better directed right now."
The Department intends to reevaluate camera and ALPR technology as part of a future budget process. That review will not necessarily be limited to Flock Safety. The Department may evaluate Flock again, consider solutions offered by other companies, examine different approaches to deployment, or determine that such a system is not appropriate for Alliance.
"Technology changes, laws change, security measures improve, and public expectations evolve," Leavitt said. "There's no harm in giving this another year to develop. If we revisit it next year, we'll have more information and can make a decision based on what the landscape looks like then. If the technology makes sense for Alliance at that point, we can move forward. If it doesn't, we won't."