Several U.s. Cities Have Replaced Flock's Automatic License Plate Reader Cameras With Axon Systems

In February, Syracuse lawmakers voted 7-1 to approve an Axon contract after using Flock since summer 2024. In March, Denver's city council voted 7-6 to replace Flock cameras with 50 Axon ones, less than half the previous total. Grand Chute, Wisconsin, voted in June to transition to Axon after repeated Flock problems. Douglas County, Colorado, dropped Flock for a nearly $22.8 million Axon deal in July, including 100 cameras and drones.

Ferndale, Michigan, switched in December, citing privacy concerns and Flock's failure to protect images from unauthorized agencies. Longmont, Colorado, approved an Axon deal in March after its Flock agreement lapsed. Knoxville, Texas, added a $9.4 million amendment to its Axon contract after Flock expired.

Cities cite Flock's national lookup tool, which allowed cross-state searches, as a key concern; Axon lacks a national network, limiting data sharing to agency-specific agreements. Denver council member Kevin Flynn noted no out-of-state officer could access their system, citing privacy concerns and failures by Flock to protect images stored on the city's ALPR network from unauthorized agencies, whereas Axon does not have a national look-up feature.