Documented Incident
Fayetteville, Arkansas council unanimously bars city funds and property for license plate readers
First reported: October 7, 2026 · 10 sources
The Fayetteville City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to adopt an ordinance barring the use of city funds or city property to acquire, operate, or subscribe to automatic license plate reader systems, including data and data-storage services. Brought by council member Bob Stafford, the measure prohibits ALPR installation on city streets, rights-of-way, poles, vehicles and other city structures, while exempting body cameras, dash cameras, security cameras and traffic-monitoring cameras unless used as part of an ALPR system. The city's parking management department, which already uses an ALPR system, is exempted on the condition that it not share data absent a probable cause warrant and that it delete captured data after 48 hours in most cases.
The ordinance restricts ALPR adoption through the city's budget and property authority rather than through a case-by-case procurement vote, an approach other municipalities may examine. It also pairs with a similar county-level measure, showing how adjacent jurisdictions in the same region are addressing the technology.
Key facts
- The Fayetteville City Council approved the ordinance unanimously at its Tuesday meeting; it was sponsored by council member Bob Stafford.
- The measure bars city funds for acquiring, leasing, operating, maintaining or licensing ALPR systems, related subscriptions, data storage, or access to captured data.
- The city parking management department's existing ALPR use is exempt, contingent on no data sharing without a probable cause warrant and deletion of data after 48 hours in most cases.
- The Washington County Quorum Court voted 13-2 last month on a similar ordinance barring taxpayer funds for Flock cameras and other ALPR systems; the county owns no license plate readers.
- Council member Teresa Turk described her position as 'reluctant support,' citing confidence in existing safeguards, while council member Sarah Moore said additional regulation of emerging technology would likely be needed.
Timeline
- October 7, 2026Fayetteville City Council votes to prohibit use of city funds, property for license plate readers
- October 7, 2026Fayetteville City Council approves ordinance prohibiting Flock cameras
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Fayetteville City Council votes to prohibit use of city funds, property for license plate readers (Knwa Fox24, October 7, 2026)
- Fayetteville City Council votes to prohibit use of city funds, property for license plate readers (Yahoo, October 7, 2026)
- Fayetteville bans county funds, property for Flock camera use (5newsonline.com, October 7, 2026)
- Fayetteville bans county funds, property for Flock camera use (Newsbreak, October 7, 2026)
- Fayetteville bans county funds, property for Flock camera use (localmemphis.com, October 7, 2026)
- Fayetteville City Council approves ordinance prohibiting Flock cameras (KHBS, October 7, 2026)
- Fayetteville City Council ban on Flock cameras (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, October 7, 2026)
- Fayetteville City Council ban on Flock cameras (The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, October 7, 2026)
- Fayetteville City Council unanimously passes ordinance banning Flock cameras (KATV, October 8, 2026)
- Fayetteville City Council unanimously passes ordinance banning Flock cameras (KATV, October 7, 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 October 14, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.