Documented Incident
West Salem, Wisconsin police remove five Flock cameras, citing cost and low local use
Event: August 25, 2026 · First reported: August 25, 2026 · 2 sources
The West Salem Police Department has taken down its five Flock Safety automated license plate readers, with Police Chief Scott Alo citing the cost of the department's two-year, $30,000 contract, infrequent use by village officers, and concerns about vandalism. Alo said the cameras were originally paid for through community donations that have since stopped, and that the village's camera data was far more likely to be queried by outside law enforcement agencies than by West Salem officers. He said he did not know which specific agencies had accessed the data. Alo told the La Crosse Tribune the decision was not driven by public criticism, saying he had not felt pressure from village residents.
The stated reason — that a small department was paying for a system whose data was mostly used by other agencies — highlights recurring oversight questions about who benefits from locally funded ALPR networks and whether departments can account for outside access to their data.
Key facts
- Five Flock cameras were removed; the department leased rather than owned the equipment.
- The contract was described as two years and $30,000; initial funding came from community donations that have since dried up.
- Chief Scott Alo, who became chief in 2024, said he did not know which outside agencies had accessed West Salem's data.
- Alo said public scrutiny was not a factor, but cited potential vandalism as a concern; all eight Flock cameras used by Winona, Minnesota police were stolen in August.
- Holmen residents publicly objected to that village's Flock contract renewal in May.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- West Salem removes Flock cams (La Crosse Tribune, August 25, 2026)
- West Salem removes Flock cams (Chippewa Herald, August 25, 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 26, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.