As street camera use surges, Colorado legislators grapple with law enforcement, privacy implications
As street camera use surges, Colorado legislators grapple with law enforcement, privacy implications
Publish Date: 2026-05-22 07:02:00
Source Domain: www.coloradopolitics.com
In Boulder, the Flock camera system helped authorities locate the car of the suspect in the firebombing that killed a woman and injured 29 others in June last year. The car had contained explosives, authorities said.
In Columbine Valley, authorities used Flock to track down a porch pirate — only, it turned out, the woman was innocent.
Over the past few years, two narratives have emerged over the use of street cameras. On the one hand, it has proven indispensable to law enforcement departments, which characterize the street cameras as force multipliers and credit them for reducing crime.
On the other hand, some policymakers and advocates worry about their implication for privacy rights, even as others charge that data from the cameras have been shared with federal authorities. The latter charge is happening against the backdrop of elected officials and their allies saying the data should not be used for immigration enforcement.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers from both parties said they have heard the same worry from their constituents — they want to know who’s watching them, what information is being gathered and how it is being used.
Automatic license plate readers like Flock’s have been at the center of controversy in Colorado for the past several years, notably in Denver. The city ended its contract with Flock earlier this year after some quarters raised charges of mass surveillance and accusations that the database would be used for immigration enforcement. The city has since approved a one-year contract with Flock competitor Axon for 50 new cameras.
In this file photo, residents inside the Geotech Environmental building on Oct. 22, 2025 press the mayor’s office to explain the initial decision to extend the city’s contract with Flock Safety. (Deborah Grigsby, The Denver Gazette)
Flock itself had insisted it does not work with immigration authorities and the data its cameras…
