Flock wanted to turn 350,000 Uber drivers into a nationwide plate-scanning fleet. A leaked Flock presentation shows the surveillance firm pitching a plan to pull license-plate data from rideshare and delivery drivers. Aug 7, 2026 In brief. * A Flock presentation obtained via public records shows a planned Nexar partnership using ~350,000 Uber, Lyft, and delivery dashcams to scan plates on the move. * Flock says the deal with Nexar was never executed; it's unclear drivers or the apps knew about the plan. * The push comes as Flock faces a LAPD contract exit, roughly two dozen officer-abuse cases, and a widening legislative crackdown. The controversial law enforcement vendor Flock Safety wanted to make every Uber, Lyft, and delivery car a moving license-plate reader. A presentation the company wrote for the Georgia Attorney General's office, and later shared with 404 Media, lays out a plan to use dashcams from Nexar - a company whose cameras already sit in hundreds of thousands of vehicles - to scan the plates of cars those drivers passed. Flock said it never actually launched the Nexar deal. The document still shows how far the company wanted to stretch its reach. Flock's normal product is a fixed camera on a pole that logs the plate, color, make, and model of every car that drives past, building a searchable map of where vehicles go. They've become incredibly divisive in communities where they've gone up, with people taking to knocking them down or covering them up in protest. The Nexar idea would have untethered these cameras from the pole. Instead of one camera watching one intersection, 350,000 cars would have carried the camera with them, filling gaps between fixed sites and tracking plates across whole regions in real time. Axon sells a similar roaming version for police cruisers; Motorola's DRN and Vigilant do it through repossession agents' cars. Flock's pitch was to do it at civilian scale. Flock hit an $8.4 billion valuation in April and its stationary cameras now cover more than 5,000 U.S. communities. Yet the ground is shifting under that network. In July, the LAPD let its Flock contract expire, citing "serious concerns" over civil liberties and privacy. CNN documented at least two dozen cases in which officers resigned or were arrested for allegedly abusing Flock's license-plate system. A presentation pitching a 350,000-car expansion landed right as the company's existing footprint drew fire. The backlash isn't just local. The non-profit advocacy group EPIC urged Congress in May to ban automatic license-plate readers outright, and states are moving on their own: Washington passed SB 6002 restricting ALPR (Automated License Plate Recognition) use, and California is weighing a bill to limit how the data is shared. Decrypt also previously reported on a proposed House bill that would require warrants for government AI surveillance. Also, the implementation of Flock's cameras on Federal buildings drew a heavy opposition arguing it may violate civil rights. The legal front is active too: A federal judge let a Norfolk suit alleging Flock cameras violate the Fourth Amendment proceed, citing the Supreme Court's Carpenter v. United States ruling on warrantless tracking. Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.

Council approves Police Department programs. Aug 4, 2026 The City Council voted Monday to renew contracts for two programs used by Bartlesville police that help fight crime and assist those in need. The Council voted to approve contracts with GRAND Mental Health to renew the City's Recovery Support Specialist (RSS) program, and with Axon and Flock Safety Systems to continue the Police Department's Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) system program. Approval of the contracts with Axon and Flock Safety Systems will see a reduction of the number of Flock ALPR cameras in use and add two additional cameras supplied by Axon. The City has contracted with FSS since 2024 to provide ALPR cameras that are used to: * Assist local police in recovering stolen vehicles * Assist in solving hit and run and other violent crime cases * Locate missing and vulnerable people * Work in conjunction with other jurisdictions to solve crimes committed locally and elsewhere While ALPR systems have the capability to capture tag numbers on a wider scale, Bartlesville police are restricted from utilizing the system at full capacity. In a 3-2 vote last year, the Council placed limitations on the program that have narrowed its potential uses in Bartlesville, requiring a reduction in the number of cameras, restricting camera locations except at the city limits, and permitting only key personnel access to the system. But even with the limitations, the Police Department points to several success stories thanks to use of the City's ALPR system, including the location of several stolen vehicles, the location of elderly and other vulnerable people in need of assistance, including one individual who had threatened self-harm, and the apprehension of criminal suspects. Connection to the camera system has also resulted in the apprehension of a suspect attempting to take an impregnated Bartlesville juvenile into Mexico without parental permission and the location of a suspect following the homicide of local teenager, in addition to being utilized in several other investigations. The City currently contracts with Axon to provide police tasers and body-worn cameras. The contracts with both companies will be revisited in one year. RSS program. In other business, the Council approved the renewal of a contract with GRAND Mental Health in connection with the Police Department's Recovery Support Specialist program. The program provides two certified peer recovery support specialists from GRAND to work with the Police Department's existing Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT) and the Parks and Pathfinder Program. The team members assist with outreach services to create a pathway from homelessness to treatment to housing for Bartlesville individuals experiencing homelessness, opioid addiction, and at risk for unintentional overdose, particularly those who have set up encampments along Pathfinder Parkway and in City parks. "Since the teams were implemented two years ago, the Outreach Team has become an essential resource for Bartlesville," said Police Chief Andrew Ward. "They connect individuals experiencing homelessness, mental illness, and substance use disorders with treatment, housing, recovery services, medical care, and other community resources. Their work addresses problems before they become emergencies, improving outcomes for those in need while reducing unnecessary calls for law enforcement, EMS, emergency rooms, and other first responders." Since January of this year, the teams have: * Completed 2,253 successful outreach contacts * Served 189 individuals experiencing homelessness or behavioral health challenges * 13 individuals have moved into stable housing, while others have entered sober living environments and residential treatment programs * Numerous people have secured income, obtained identification, and overcome barriers that previously prevented them from moving forward "In July alone, the Outreach Team documented 38 crisis that were prevented, and 20 situations that were successfully resolved without requiring law enforcement response," Ward said. "Those numbers represent fewer emergency calls, fewer arrests, fewer hospital visits, and more opportunities for people to receive the help they need before reaching a crisis point. This partnership is not simply an investment in behavioral health - it is an investment in public safety." Funding to continue the program for a third year ($123,891) is available through monies received from the State of Oklahoma through the Opioid Abatement Settlement Funds. City beat signup.