Kenosha police end Flock Safety contract over data-sharing and access concerns, switch to Axon

First reported: September 3, 2026 · 1 source

Kenosha Police Chief Patrick Patton said the department is terminating its contract with Flock Safety, which it had used since 2023 across 31 cameras, citing concerns about security, data sharing, who could access the data, and potential misuse. The department has given Flock the required 30-day notice and said it plans to cover the cameras in the meantime to halt data collection. Kenosha is replacing the system with Axon Outpost license plate readers that the department says it will own and operate itself, with data stored internally for 30 days. Patton said officers will not have direct access to the data and must obtain supervisor approval with a case number and stated justification.

Why this matters

Kenosha's stated reasons — uncertainty over who could access Flock data and what the cameras could do — reflect questions other municipalities have raised about vendor-hosted ALPR networks, and its shift to a self-operated system with supervisor gatekeeping offers one model other agencies may examine.

Key facts

Kenosha Police used Flock Safety since 2023 with 31 cameras citywide.
Chief Patrick Patton cited data sharing, security, access, and misuse concerns; a 30-day cancellation notice has been given and the contract ends next month.
The department said it will cover the Flock cameras before termination to stop further data collection.
Replacement system is Axon Outpost, owned and operated by the department, with a stated 30-day internal data retention period.
Under the new policy described by Patton, officers must request data through a supervisor with a case number and justification.

Sources

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

Kenosha says farewell to Flock, drops license plate readers citing security, misuse and data sharing concerns (TMJ4 News, September 3, 2026)

More from Wisconsin

Everything we have documented in Wisconsin, or search every Wisconsin article in the archive.

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 September 4, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.