Providence, R.I. — Council members here cast a unanimous Thursday night vote advancing a ban on Flock automated plate readers, sending the ordinance to committee while leaving the cameras running for now.
Sponsors include Council President Rachel Miller along with council members Sue AnderBois and Miguel Sanchez. The draft would bar city agencies from running plate readers or tapping their data, and it would push the city to end existing Flock agreements.
Providence police now operate about 60 Flock cameras that capture plate information for investigations. The proposed ban cites privacy worries that range from immigration enforcement access to stalking and misidentification, and a Rhode Island College student report earlier found millions of out-of-city searches against Providence Flock data.
Mayor Brett Smiley has defended the system as a crime-fighting tool and urged councilors to tighten privacy rules instead of dumping the technology. Police Chief Oscar Perez said he was not consulted before the draft landed and warned that operational consequences need input from the people who run investigations.
If the HOPE Committee clears the ordinance, it still needs two full-council votes and a mayoral signature or veto. The city’s Flock contract, signed in October 2023, runs roughly $155,000 to $170,000 a year under figures cited in the ordinance text.
Supporters say constant plate tracking exacts a civil-liberties cost even when most drivers are not suspects. Opponents argue the cameras have helped close cases and that scrapping them wholesale would leave investigators with fewer leads across Providence.
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