Birmingham declines to release ALPR contracts as city's surveillance camera network reaches $9.7 million

First reported: August 30, 2026 · 1 source

AL.com reported that Birmingham has roughly 200 mapped automated license plate readers within city limits, most made by Flock Safety, purchased through Alabama Power as an intermediary rather than directly from the vendor. The Birmingham Police Department declined to answer questions about how the data is collected, stored or shared, and the city denied multiple records requests for its camera contracts, saying they did not meet unspecified city and state criteria. The city eventually provided its ALPR policy, which states data is used only for law enforcement purposes and shared with other agencies only with the police chief's approval, though the underlying records retention schedule is not public. City Councilman Darrell O'Quinn said the lack of a direct agreement with the vendor raises questions about protecting residents' data, and DeFlock Birmingham founder Darrell Nance is calling for release of the contracts and public hearings.

Why this matters

Birmingham illustrates how purchasing surveillance equipment through a third-party utility can leave a city without a direct vendor contract, complicating public records access and oversight of a nearly $10 million system.

Key facts

Birmingham's camera program began with a 2018 City Council vote following about 90 minutes of closed-door discussion; the network grew to 330 cameras by 2024 and the contract was extended in July 2025 with 100 additional cameras, reaching $9.7 million over five years.
Alabama Power acts as an intermediary for Flock in Alabama, with roughly 80 cities holding similar agreements; the utility says it installs and maintains equipment but does not access or monitor recorded data.
AL.com filed two records requests in May, which were denied, and four more in June; as of Aug. 28 the city had provided only its ALPR policy.
In July, a Moody police officer was terminated and a Springville officer resigned after internal investigations found misuse of their departments' Flock systems; both cases were referred to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
The ACLU's Chad Marlow said more than 55 municipalities nationwide, including Los Angeles, canceled or declined to renew Flock contracts over an 11-month period; a federal judge in Norfolk, Va., ruled in early 2026 that the cameras do not violate privacy rights but noted that could change.

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

Your car is being tracked across Birmingham. The city won’t say what happens to the data (AL.com, August 30, 2026)

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About this record

BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.

Updated August 30, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.