Flock ALPR Cameras

At a glance

Details come from auto-captions.

What: the Thomasville Police Department runs eight Flock Safety Falcon automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, plus two other ALPRs on trial from another vendor.
Where it stands: Police Chief Dustin Carter answered council's and the public's questions on October 6 in an 18-point presentation.
Next: members asked for a condensed version at a council meeting (October) rather than a public forum. Outcome of the council presentation is not yet recorded.

Initial $28,034 paid October 29, 2025; $24,000 a year.
The contract renews December 26, 2027 for 24 months unless cancelled 30 days earlier.

A resident has spoken against them at council public forum in August and September on Fourth Amendment grounds.
Others questioned cost, ownership of the cameras and return on investment.

30-day default retention (90-day outer limit absent a preservation request).
Role-based access: 29 patrol users alerts only, 11 detectives and 11 supervisors with search, six administrators.
Hit confirmation through NCIC before any stop.
An August 11, 2026 audit found no misuse.
The department said it cannot produce before-and-after crime statistics because of the cyber attack.
A new state law also makes it permanent to place ALPRs on NC DOT right-of-way by agreement.

About 66 minutes across 3 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

2026-10-06 - City Council - Public Safety Committee heard Dustin Carter's 18-question Flock presentation; members wanted a shortened public version at a council meeting rather than a forum.
2026-09-21 - City Council - Three residents challenged the cameras in public forum (constitutional objections, $80,000-plus cost, eight owned vs 12-13 seen, no ROI data); the mayor reminded the room council does not respond during public forum.
2026-08-17 - City Council - A resident cited cases of alleged ALPR misuse and said he is waiting on a public records request about searches of his own plate.