The city of Dayton says two Flock license-plate reader cameras were put back into service without authorization while the city’s camera program was on hold, and both are being removed.
City officials say they explicitly told Flock on Sept. 18 that no maintenance orders should be completed during the pause. When staff discovered one camera had been reinstalled, they checked additional locations and found a second, the city said. Both cameras will be taken down promptly.
Why the two cameras were reactivated remains unclear. The company had not responded to a request for comment when the report was published, and the city has not said whether it considers the unauthorized reinstallations a contract violation.
Flock cameras automatically scan the license plates of passing vehicles and have been adopted by police departments across Ohio as investigative tools. Their use has also drawn scrutiny from privacy advocates and some local officials, prompting several cities to review or pause their programs. Dayton officials have not announced when — or whether — the camera program will resume.
