System status: Confirmed Flock LPR network; reported 2026 Flock DFR trial
Campaign status: Active inventory, sharing, drone and renewal research
Last verified: October 20, 2026
An October report documented ICE involvement in a Southfield-linked case.
On October 7, FOX 2 reported on five Metro Detroit matters in which ALPR information and federal immigration agencies intersected. For Southfield, the station said a human-trafficking investigation expanded beyond Michigan and ICE became involved.
FOX 2: Metro Detroit ALPR cases and ICE concerns ↗
That report does not establish that Southfield runs routine immigration searches, that the city’s policy statement was false in every respect, or that the underlying search was unlawful. It does establish a concrete case in which the practical investigative chain reached ICE despite the city’s February statement that city-operated readers are not used for immigration enforcement.
The city should publish the case’s privacy-minimized audit trail: which agency initiated each search, which camera network supplied the observation, what stated reason and case number were entered, when ICE became involved, what information was exported, and which written policy governed the handoff.
Southfield’s Flock system dates to at least 2021.
Southfield City Council agendas show police Flock automatic-license-plate-recognition items in April and August 2021.
Official April 26, 2021 Southfield agenda
Official August 16, 2021 Southfield agenda
The city’s FY 2021–22 annual financial report subsequently said Southfield had obtained Flock Safety license-plate readers in collaboration with multiple Southeast Michigan agencies, had placed readers strategically around the city, planned to expand, and could share data with participating agencies.
Official Southfield FY 2021–22 financial report
The city planned six more years of Flock payments.
Southfield’s adopted FY 2024–25 Capital Improvement Plan budgets $40,000 per year for Flock Safety license-plate readers across six fiscal years—a projected $240,000 in total.
Official Southfield FY 2024–25 Capital Improvement Plan
The plan describes continued payment for readers already purchased and strategically placed. It does not provide a definitive camera count, contract expiration date or nonrenewal clause.
Southfield’s network includes public/private sharing.
At a March 27, 2024 Planning Commission meeting, city staff described Flock readers integrated with adjacent communities. The same presentation said private businesses had purchased cameras for their parking lots and shared the information with Southfield Police.
It also said the Southfield City Centre district had purchased five cameras at strategic locations.
Official March 27, 2024 Southfield Planning Commission transcript, pages 83–84
In February 2026, the City Centre Advisory Board listed “Flock Safety Camera—Contract Year 3 of 5: $12,500.”
Official February 10, 2026 City Centre agenda
This creates at least three layers that should not be blended into one unexplained count:
- Southfield Police/city-funded readers;
- City Centre district cameras under a separate five-year contract;
- privately purchased business cameras shared with police.
Each layer can have different ownership, contract terms, retention, access and removal authority.
Southfield added a Flock drone issue in 2026.
The official March 23, 2026 City Council agenda listed “Southfield Police Department / Flock Safety Drone as First Responder (DFR)” for discussion and action.
Official March 23, 2026 Southfield agenda
A searchable meeting-summary account reports that council approved a 12-month, no-cost Flock DFR trial for police and fire response, with staff expected to return with evaluation data and any later budget request.
Meeting summary: reported Southfield Flock DFR approval
Because the searchable city page gives the agenda but not the full trial agreement, the signed pilot terms, drone model, dock locations, launch rules, sensor payload, flight-data retention, video access and end-of-trial decision remain high-priority records.
Southfield separately operates other drone equipment and a public FlySafe airspace-information initiative. Those are not automatically Flock products and should not be merged with the Flock DFR trial.
What has the city promised about civil rights and immigration?
In February 2026, Southfield stated that city-operated license-plate-reader technology:
- is limited to vehicle-related investigations;
- does not identify individuals;
- does not use facial recognition;
- is not used for immigration enforcement;
- and is controlled, logged and subject to audit.
Official Southfield civil-rights and local-policy statement
Those are meaningful public commitments. They also raise verification questions:
- Is the restriction in a binding department policy, contract and technical configuration?
- Does it cover outside agencies searching Southfield-origin data?
- Does it cover privately owned cameras shared with police?
- What happens when a vehicle query is used to identify or locate a person through other records?
- Who reviews the logs, how often, and are findings reported publicly?
- Does the same policy govern DFR video, or only LPR records?
A policy statement is strongest when residents can compare it with settings, sharing reports and audits.
No local Condor, Raven or Nova purchase is confirmed yet.
We did not locate a reliable public Southfield record establishing a city purchase of Condor video cameras, Raven acoustic detection, Nova data fusion or Wing integration.
That does not establish absence. The named Flock DFR trial involves a Flock aerial-video workflow, while business sharing establishes that non-city camera information can enter the police workflow. Current contracts and platform entitlements are needed to establish whether FlockOS or another named module connects those sources.
Learn what Condor and Raven do and why connected products matter →
Camera maps show scale—but not a clean official count.
Volunteer mapping currently shows dozens of ALPRs within Southfield, attributed to Southfield Police, the Town Center, businesses, property operators and other agencies or vendors.
Current Southfield community-mapping summary
These locations are useful leads. They are not a substitute for separate official inventories by owner and product, and they can change faster than a city contract page.
Highest-value Southfield records
Ask for:
- every current Flock order form, master agreement, amendment, renewal and invoice;
- the city-police LPR inventory and the renewal/nonrenewal deadline tied to the $40,000 annual plan;
- the City Centre five-camera contract, locations, current term and sharing agreement;
- every private business, school, apartment, shopping center or property manager sharing cameras or LPR data with Southfield Police;
- current inbound/outbound agency-sharing reports and search-network settings;
- LPR retention, use, audit, immigration and First Amendment policies;
- de-identified search logs, hot-list sources, alerts and audit findings;
- the complete Flock DFR trial agreement, privacy impact assessment, flight policy, FAA approvals and evaluation criteria;
- drone flight logs, launch reasons, routes, sensor use, recordings, exports, retention and access logs;
- all FlockOS, Nova, FreeForm, Wing, Condor, Raven, DFR or other enabled modules and trials;
- and the procedure for ending access, deleting routine data and removing equipment.
Send a Southfield record or correction →
Our current Southfield ask
Publish one complete, owner-by-owner inventory of the city, City Centre and private cameras available to police. Publish the DFR pilot terms and evaluation before any paid continuation.
Do not expand the LPR, private-camera or drone network. At each available contract exit:
Decline renewal, end shared access and remove the covered surveillance systems.