Penn State Police Will Not Renew Flock Safety Contract, Removing 20-Plus Campus Cameras

First reported: October 14, 2026 · 22 sources

Penn State University Police and Public Safety confirmed it will not renew its expired one-year contract with Flock Safety for stationary automated license plate readers placed at perimeter locations around the University Park campus. Department spokesperson Jacqueline Sheader said the decision followed a review of the system's cost, return on investment and operational value, and that no replacement system has been selected. The ALPR mapping site DeFlock had listed more than 20 cameras around the campus. The department had previously described the 2025 contract as a pilot program supporting stolen-vehicle recovery, missing-person cases and investigative leads.

Why this matters

A police agency declining to renew an ALPR contract on cost and value grounds, rather than solely on privacy objections, offers other jurisdictions a procurement-based framework for evaluating surveillance tools. The decision also intersects with active debate in Pennsylvania over whether and how local governments can restrict ALPRs.

Key facts

Penn State UPPS entered the one-year Flock contract in 2025 and is not renewing it after expiration; the department says no replacement has been chosen.
DeFlock, a volunteer ALPR mapping site, reported more than 20 Flock cameras around the University Park campus.
Ferguson Township supervisors discussed restricting ALPRs in September; Township Manager Warren Obenski said preliminary research suggests the township lacks authority to ban the cameras on private property.
Supervisor Trevor White argued drivers cannot opt out of being logged and floated a Fourth Amendment lawsuit; those are his stated positions, not legal findings.
Flock recently reduced its default data retention period from 30 days to seven days, according to the article.

Timeline

October 14, 2026Penn State Ditching Flock Cameras
October 14, 2026Penn State votes to remove Flock cameras from University Park campus after contract ends
October 14, 2026Penn State votes to remove Flock cameras from University Park campus after contract ends

Sources

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

Penn State Ditching Flock Cameras (StateCollege.com, October 14, 2026)
Penn State pulls the plug on Flock — removal of 20+ cameras to follow (WTAJ, October 14, 2026)
Penn State votes to remove Flock cameras from University Park campus after contract ends (WJAC, October 14, 2026)
Penn State scraps Flock cameras on campus (WPSU, October 14, 2026)
Penn State votes to remove Flock cameras from University Park campus after contract ends (local21news.com, October 15, 2026)
Penn State Set To End Use Of Flock Cameras On Campus (Onward State, October 14, 2026)
Penn State scraps Flock cameras on campus (Newsbreak, October 14, 2026)
Penn State ends contract with Flock Safety (fox43.com, October 15, 2026)
Flock Cameras Will Be Removed From Penn State Campus (ABC23, October 15, 2026)
Penn State police drop Flock license plate cameras at University Park (Lehigh Daily, October 14, 2026)
Penn State will remove Flock cameras after reviewing cost (The Daily Collegian, October 14, 2026)
Penn State Pulls Flock Cameras Over Cost, but Might Use Other Cameras (GovTech, October 15, 2026)
Penn State pulls the plug on Flock — removal of 20+ cameras to follow (ABC27, October 15, 2026)
Penn State Drops Flock Safety Cameras After Cost Review (Gadget Review, October 14, 2026)
Penn State pulls the plug on Flock — removal of 20+ cameras to follow (WTAJ, October 14, 2026)
Penn State Drops Flock Safety Cameras After Cost Review (Yahoo, October 14, 2026)
Penn State ends contract with Flock Safety (Yahoo, October 15, 2026)
Penn State scraps Flock cameras on campus (Pennsylvania Capital-Star, October 16, 2026)
Penn State votes to remove Flock cameras from University Park campus after contract ends (fox56.com, October 16, 2026)
Penn State ends contract with Flock Safety (WNEP, October 15, 2026)
Penn State scraps Flock cameras on campus (Wesa, October 17, 2026)
Penn State votes to remove Flock cameras from University Park campus after contract ends (fox56.com, October 14, 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 19, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.