Privacy Advocates Trying To Get Flock License Plate Cams In Cheyenne Removed
Privacy Advocates Trying To Get Flock License Plate Cams In Cheyenne Removed
Publish Date: 2026-02-28 14:24:00
Source Domain: cowboystatedaily.com
The license plate of a vehicle involved in a carjacking in Broomfield, Colorado, turned up in Cheyenne last weekend.
Police there had put the license plate of the vehicle in question into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. A Flock camera in Cheyenne picked up the license plate number with its automated plate recognition software.
According to Cheyene Police Department spokesperson Alex Farkas, police officers responded to the location of the initial plate hit, but were unable to find the vehicle. They remained in the vicinity, anticipating another alert from the Flock camera system.
That alert came a few hours later when another Flock camera detected the stolen vehicle.
Officers located the vehicle and arrested a Cheyenne man on suspicion of felony motor vehicle theft and possession of methamphetamine.
Farkas said the Flock system provided timely plate detection alerts, allowing officers to quickly locate the vehicle and take the suspect into custody.
While they’ve proven helpful for law enforcement, a growing number of people are raising privacy concerns about whether the cameras go too far in monitoring law-abiding citizens.
A petition organized by the Laramie County Democrats wants the cameras removed, calling the surveillance system a “digital dragnet that monitors thousands of innocent Cheyenne residents every day to catch a handful of criminals.”
Ted Hanlon, chairman of the Laramie County Democrats, presented the petition to the Cheyenne City Council this week.
The petition had 779 signatures between Dec. 29, 2025, and Feb. 22, 2026.
The petition and dialogue surrounding the Flock cameras highlights rising public concern about the cameras’ technology and the potential for privacy overreach.
“I assume all of us are concerned about surveillance,” said Cheyenne City Council Member Pete Laybourne during the meeting after Hanlon read the petition into the record. “But when you don’t trust and when you don’t believe the facts…
