Suppose a city decides:
We are not renewing Flock.
Excellent.
That is the decision we are working toward.
But a successful DeFlock campaign should not stop the moment somebody says the contract is over.
There are still practical questions:
Did the service actually end?
Were the cameras removed?
What happened to stored information?
Were user accounts disabled?
Did another vendor replace the system?
Was the decision documented clearly enough that residents understand what happened?
And:
What do we need to watch so the same system does not quietly return next year?
The goal is not merely a successful meeting.
The goal is ending the surveillance practice.
Step 1: Confirm the actual decision.
First, preserve the official record.
That could be a council or township-board vote, official minutes, written nonrenewal notice, termination letter, budget decision, contract expiration or another formal government record.
Do not rely only on: Someone at the meeting said Flock is going away.
We want evidence showing what the government actually decided.
Step 2: Confirm what “ending Flock” means.
Officials might say: We are ending our Flock contract.
Great.
Ask:
- Which contract?
- Which products?
- All ALPR cameras?
- Video products too?
- Software subscriptions?
- Shared access?
- Any separately purchased surveillance products?
One agreement may not cover everything.
Step 3: Check the effective date.
A vote today does not always mean the service stops today.
Maybe the current term continues another three months, nonrenewal takes effect at the end of the year, equipment remains installed while the subscription winds down or the vendor needs time to remove hardware.
Record the actual effective date.
Then follow up after it passes.
Step 4: Confirm the vendor received whatever notice the contract required.
If the contract requires written nonrenewal notice, was it sent?
When?
By whom?
Did the vendor acknowledge it?
If a contract automatically renews unless notice is properly delivered, the paperwork is part of the victory.
Step 5: Confirm recurring billing stops.
A system is not really gone if invoices keep arriving.
After the termination or expiration date, watch for renewal invoices, accounts-payable entries, purchase orders, subscription charges or new agreements.
No contract should mean no recurring surveillance subscription.
Step 6: Confirm access is disabled.
The physical camera is only one part of the system.
When service ends, determine whether agency user accounts, search access, alerts, sharing relationships and software access have actually been disabled.
A camera sitting on a pole but disconnected from the surveillance platform is different from an active searchable network.
Step 7: Find out what happens to the data.
The answer may depend on the contract, vendor practices, agency policy, legal obligations, existing investigations and records-retention rules.
Useful questions include:
- What happens to routine ALPR observations when the service ends?
- Are remaining routine records deleted?
- When?
- Does the municipality receive an export?
- Are audit logs preserved?
- What information connected to active investigations remains in case files?
- Does the vendor certify deletion of data it controls?
Do not assume the contract ended and therefore every copy of every record instantly disappeared.
Verify the actual process.
Existing case evidence may remain.
Suppose an ALPR image became evidence in a burglary case six months before the system was removed.
Ending the ALPR program does not necessarily mean legally relevant evidence in that case must disappear.
It may remain within a police report, evidence system, prosecution file, court record or another lawful case record.
That is different from continuing routine mass collection.
Our goal is to end the ongoing surveillance infrastructure, not erase legitimate historical case evidence contrary to applicable law.
Step 8: Confirm physical equipment is removed or clearly decommissioned.
If the local goal included physical removal, check.
Did the camera come down?
Was the equipment cabinet removed?
Was the solar panel removed?
Are poles remaining for another legitimate purpose?
If hardware remains, find out why.
Do not personally touch or test equipment. Observe lawfully and verify through records when needed.
A camera still standing does not automatically mean the system is active.
Hardware removal may lag behind service termination.
An abandoned or disconnected camera may look identical from the roadside.
Before announcing that the city claimed to remove Flock but it is still operating, verify.
A more accurate interim statement may be: The contract has ended, but physical removal has not yet been verified.
Evidence first.
Step 9: Check the DeFlock map.
Once removal is verified under DeFlock’s current mapping rules, update the shared map appropriately.
Do not delete or change camera records based only on rumor, a political statement, remote imagery or an assumption that contract expiration means immediate physical removal.
Follow DeFlock’s current verification process.
Step 10: Make sure the replacement is not the same surveillance with a different logo.
This may be the most important post-victory check.
A city can say We got rid of Flock and then purchase another ALPR vendor or networked vehicle-tracking service providing materially similar capabilities.
That is not the outcome we are working toward.
Ask:
- Is another vendor being considered?
- Did the city issue an RFP?
- Is a replacement product appearing in a new budget?
- Are existing Motorola/Vigilant, Genetec, Rekor or other systems remaining?
Do not declare the surveillance practice ended simply because one vendor left.
Removing Flock does not necessarily mean removing every camera.
A municipality might still have traffic-management cameras, building-security cameras, body-worn cameras, ordinary facility video or other systems outside this campaign’s scope.
Our goal is not No cameras may exist anywhere.
Our goal is ending the covered systems that routinely create searchable mass tracking of ordinary movement.
Step 11: Document why the decision happened.
Once the system is gone, ask why officials decided not to renew.
Maybe residents raised privacy concerns, the cost was too high, the department decided it was unnecessary, the technology produced poor results, officials disliked the sharing model, legal concerns mattered or several factors combined.
Preserve meeting video, official statements, minutes, news coverage, campaign materials and important records.
The story can help another municipality.
Do not rewrite history to make the campaign look better.
Maybe residents organized for months and the decisive factor was actually that the police chief no longer thought it was worth the money.
That is still a win.
Maybe officials were already reconsidering the system before the campaign began.
Say so.
Credibility matters more than claiming sole credit.
Step 12: Thank people.
If officials listened, thank them.
If an official voted for nonrenewal after previously supporting the system, thank them.
If the police department cooperated with removal, acknowledge it.
If a FOIA coordinator helped find important records, appreciate that.
Positive examples matter.
Officials should be allowed to change their minds.
If a trustee previously voted for Flock and now says I have reconsidered this, that is good.
We want officials to change policy.
Give them room to do it.
Accountability does not require permanent punishment for every past vote.
Step 13: Tell residents what happened.
A successful removal should have a clear public explanation.
Something like:
Redford Township has allowed its Flock agreement to expire. We have confirmed the service ended on [date], and we are verifying physical removal of the remaining equipment. We have not identified a replacement mass vehicle-tracking system.
Then link the supporting record.
Simple. Specific. Verifiable.
Do not declare victory too early.
A useful progression is:
Nonrenewal announced
Official intention stated.
Nonrenewal confirmed
Formal action completed.
Service ended
Contract or service termination effective.
Removal being verified
Physical or technical shutdown still being checked.
Removal confirmed
Covered system verified removed or decommissioned.
DeFlocked
Covered mass vehicle-surveillance practice ended and no materially similar replacement currently identified.
That word should mean something.
Step 14: Preserve the campaign record.
Keep the useful record: current contract, nonrenewal notice, key public records, important meeting minutes, final vote, termination evidence, removal verification and a short summary of what worked.
That becomes a reusable local case study.
One local win should help the next city.
Imagine Livonia residents later facing their own renewal.
Instead of beginning with Has anyone ever actually gotten rid of these?, we can show what happened in another municipality: the contract clause, timeline, arguments, vote, records, officials’ reasoning and final outcome.
That changes what people think is possible.
Westland is already showing us the middle of this process.
Westland did not renew its Flock contract in July 2026 after sustained resident concern and a divided City Council.
That is a real Metro Detroit nonrenewal example.
We are not calling the city fully DeFlocked yet.
September reporting documented Westland personnel physically removing a Flock installation. Complete removal still needs verification. Westland also approved a separate Axon ALPR function in 2024, and its current status matters to the larger end-state question.
That makes Westland a useful example of why this page exists:
Nonrenewal is a major win. Verification still matters. And changing vendors is not the same thing as ending mass vehicle tracking.
See the current Westland evidence →
Eastpointe and Independence Township now show two other parts of the process. Eastpointe police discontinued Flock use after a 4-1 termination vote and two employee-misuse findings, but removal and data closeout remain open. Independence Township’s 7-0 vote reportedly directed camera removal, reimbursement for unused credits and an affidavit confirming deletion of township-related data.
See the Eastpointe termination and misuse record →
See Independence Township’s closeout requirements →
Step 15: Reduce the campaign after success.
A successful local campaign does not need permanent emergency mode.
Once removal is confirmed, stop unnecessary task tracking, archive old campaign actions, reduce routine messages and move the municipality into light monitoring.
Residents can get their evenings back.
That is part of success too.
What does light monitoring look like?
Maybe check major budgets occasionally, watch for obvious surveillance procurement, keep a few local residents connected and respond if a new proposal appears.
That is enough.
We do not need somebody reading every city invoice forever looking for the word camera.
Keep the municipality page as a case study.
Instead of deleting the page, preserve it.
A successfully DeFlocked page can explain what system existed, what it cost, how the contract worked, what residents did, what officials decided, when the system ended, how removal was verified, whether a replacement was considered and what another community can learn.
That page may become more valuable after the cameras are gone than before.
What if a replacement appears later?
Then the campaign can reopen.
DeFlocked does not mean a municipality has promised never to use surveillance again until the end of civilization.
It means: The covered system was ended and no materially similar replacement is currently identified.
What if the city keeps one limited camera for a specific purpose?
Then evaluate what it actually is.
Do not force reality into slogans.
Questions include:
- Is it an ALPR?
- Does it store location observations?
- Is it networked?
- Can historical movement be searched?
- Who can access it?
- Is it targeted at a specific controlled entrance rather than general public-road movement?
- Does it fall within the surveillance practice this campaign covers?
The answer should follow the facts.
The end state is not “government has no technology.”
The end state is:
No routine networked mass tracking of ordinary people’s vehicle movements.
Police still exist. Investigations still happen. Security cameras may still exist for legitimate limited purposes. Public-safety technology still exists.
What disappears is the infrastructure designed to routinely record, retain, search and connect the movement of ordinary drivers.
What success looks like
A successful local campaign can ultimately say:
The agreement ended.
The recurring payment stopped.
Routine collection stopped.
Search access ended.
Data disposition was addressed.
The hardware was removed or decommissioned.
No equivalent replacement quietly took its place.
The evidence is preserved.
Residents know what happened.
Then go celebrate.
You earned it.
And afterward, help the next community do it faster.
Contracts, Costs & Renewal Windows →