Flock Camera Lease Extension to Get Final Vote

In Thursday’s Council Meeting, Council will have their final vote to approve a five-year lease extension for the 100 Flock license plate reader cameras currently operated by the Lexington Police Department. The first year of this lease will cost the City $352,404.11, with each subsequent year’s cost being $317,500 — bringing the five-year total cost to $1,622,404.11.

This five-year lease extension only pertains to the 100 cameras currently operated by LPD. The Mayor’s Proposed Budget for FY25 has allocated $75,000 for 25 additional Flock cameras, but those additional cameras will not be acquired until the FY25 Budget is fully adopted by Council.

As of March 25th, 2024, the Police Department claims that Flock cameras have helped in the recovery of 262 stolen vehicles, the location of 21 missing people, and the seizure of 68 firearms. You can review these and other statistics, as well as the location of all LPR cameras, on the License Plate Reader transparency page.

Critics of Flock cameras have cited wide-ranging concerns about privacy and their potential over-use in communities of color.

Council Meeting will be held on Thursday, April 25th at 6pm in Council Chambers. You can attend in-person or watch live on LexTV.

Republished from CivicLex.

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