Documented Incident
Watsonville council votes 4-3 to cut Flock cameras from 37 to 20 and shorten data retention
Event: September 23, 2026 · First reported: September 25, 2026 · 5 sources
The Watsonville City Council voted 4-3 on Tuesday to deactivate and remove 17 of the Police Department's 37 Flock automated license plate reader cameras, leaving 20 in service. The council also shortened data retention from 30 days to seven days and ended sharing that made the data searchable by other California police agencies. The city must additionally commission a third-party audit, research public safety alternatives and hold a town hall on the technology. On the same day, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to shut down its own 63-camera Flock network.
The split vote shows a council choosing to restrict an existing ALPR program rather than cancel it outright, and the accompanying audit, retention limit and sharing cutoff offer a template other cities may weigh against the full-cancellation approach taken by Monterey County the same day.
Key facts
- Vote was 4-3: Dutra, Quiroz-Carter, Parker and Orozco in favor; Montesino, Clark and Salcido opposed.
- Camera count drops from 37 to 20; retention falls from 30 days to seven; out-of-agency search access in California ends.
- Police Chief Brian Shab said Flock assisted in 894 cases but, asked by Councilmember Parker, estimated roughly half a dozen were primarily solved using it.
- Even after the reduction, Watsonville police would operate more Flock devices than any other city in the county, a disparity critics linked to the city's higher share of Latino residents.
- Monterey County supervisors voted 3-2 the same day to order the Sheriff's Office to close access to and remove all 63 county cameras.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Watsonville City Council limits Flock cameras (pajaronian.com, September 25, 2026)
- Flock camera discussion to return to Watsonville City Council (santacruzsentinel.com, September 21, 2026)
- CT police standards council approves Flock camera restrictions (New Hampshire Public Radio, September 24, 2026)
- Watsonville City Council Approves New Restrictions on Flock Cameras (Santa Cruz Local, September 24, 2026)
- Police standards council recommends new rules on Flock cameras (CT Mirror, September 24, 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 September 28, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.