At a November 12 special meeting, the Ventura, California City Council voted 5 to 2 to end the city's contract for Flock license plate cameras, the Ventura County Star and the Santa Barbara News-Press reported. The city has 23 Flock cameras, at a cost of $69,000 a year, according to the News-Press. Council members Jim Duran and Alex Mangone voted no.
The timing came from the contract. The city's posted order form with Flock runs from December 19, 2025 to December 18, 2026, and it renews for another 12 months unless the city gives notice "at least thirty (30) days prior to the end of the then-current term." Thirty days before December 18 is November 18. The vote came six days before that date.
If your town has Flock cameras, check its contract for a term end date.
Facts are current as of November 14, 2026.
Why Ventura reviewed the contract
The review started in September. At a September 22 council meeting, Police Chief David Dickey said that "in those two months, 3,000 out-of-state agencies queried Ventura's camera data," and that because each agency searched more than once, "the volume resulted in tens of thousands of unauthorized queries," the News-Press reported. Dickey named NCIS, ATF offices, U.S. Air Force bases, the U.S. Park Police and out-of-state drug task forces among them, and "attributed the problem to a nationwide query done by Flock." The article does not give the dates of the two months. The council voted 5 to 1 that night to review the contract.
It was the department's second report of outside searches this year. In a February 27 release, the Ventura Police Department described a "vendor-based configuration error by its provider, Flock Safety" that let two out-of-state agencies search its data between March and mid-September 2025. Because of configuration issues, "we are unable to determine if vehicle data was provided to the outside agencies," the release said.
California law limits who can get this data. Civil Code section 1798.90.55 says a public agency "shall not sell, share, or transfer ALPR information, except to another public agency, and only as otherwise permitted by law." A 2023 bulletin from the state Attorney General says that law "does not permit California LEAs to share ALPR information with private entities or out-of-state or federal agencies," including through a vendor's database.
What the council voted for
City staff gave the council four options. The agenda marked renewing the contract with an annual progress report as the "PREFERRED APPROACH." The council chose option 4: "Discontinue the Flock Safety (ALPR) program by terminating the City's existing Flock Safety contract."
The council also directed staff to put together an informational item on banning new automatic license plate readers in Ventura, except parking lot cameras, the News-Press reported. Police said they must contact Flock before they can give a date for taking the cameras down.
The two sides, in their words, from the News-Press:
- Chief Dickey: "I am happy to do anything to keep this system, so that we can keep this city safe." A staff report from Dickey and City Manager Bill Ayub estimated that ending the program would cost over $4 million a year, for 14 more officers and a fifth patrol beat, the paper reported.
- Mayor Jeannette Sánchez-Palacios: "We have choices to have a phone, we have choices to use the internet, but our choice with the Flock camera has been taken away."
- Councilmember Duran, who voted no: "I am really sorry, this is an incredible tool." He asked the council to wait and see whether state or federal legislation comes.
What Ventura's cameras record
Flock posts a public transparency portal for Ventura. On November 14 it listed:
| Item | Ventura's portal |
|---|---|
| Cameras | 23 |
| Data kept | 30 days |
| Vehicles detected, last 30 days | 359,103 |
| Searches, last 30 days | 384 |
| Hotlist hits, last 30 days | 3,775 |
The portal says: "VPD does not share its ALPR data with federal agencies or law enforcement agencies outside California." The order form also sets a 30-day retention period.
Police have not given a date for removing the cameras, per the News-Press. Our post on what happens after a town drops Flock covers camera removal and the contract's deletion clause.
How to find your town's renewal date
- Check for a portal. Search "transparency.flocksafety.com" with your city or county name. A portal shows camera count, retention days and search totals. Our Flock camera guide lists other ways to find out whether your town uses Flock.
- Find the contract. Some cities post signed agreements online; Ventura's is in its document center. Ventura's order form gives the term dates, the renewal rule and the retention period on its first pages. If it is not posted, ask the city clerk for it in a public records request.
- Find the term and the notice period. Look for the term end date and the number of days of notice the city must give to stop a renewal. Ventura's was 30 days.
- Check for a second agreement. Ventura's posted order form covers 19 cameras at $59,500, while the city has 23 cameras at $69,000 a year. Ask for every agreement and order form with Flock.
- Ask for the search audit. Ventura's first report of out-of-state searches came from an audit of who searched its data, the police department said in February. Ask your police department for its most recent audit and its list of agencies that can search its data.
- Check your state's law. California limits sharing to other public agencies. Two bills to limit retention, SB 274 (a 60-day default, vetoed in 2025) and SB 1013 (failed to pass the Legislature in 2026), did not become law. The Flock camera guide links a summary of each state's rules.
Under Ventura's order form, notice given after November 18 would have meant another 12-month term. If you want your council to weigh in, the notice date in your town's contract is the one to know.
Frequently asked questions
Did Ventura end its Flock contract?
The City Council voted 5 to 2 on November 12, 2026 to terminate it. The contract term runs to December 18, 2026. Police said they must contact Flock to set a date to remove the 23 cameras.
Why did Ventura cancel Flock?
The contract review began in September, after Police Chief David Dickey reported that out-of-state agencies made tens of thousands of searches of Ventura's data over two months, which he called unauthorized.
Do Flock contracts renew automatically?
Ventura's does. Its order form renews for 12 months unless the city gives notice at least 30 days before the term ends. Check your own town's signed agreement for its terms.
How long does Ventura keep plate data?
30 days, according to both the city's order form and Flock's transparency portal for the Ventura Police Department.
Can I see how often my town's Flock cameras are searched?
If your agency has a Flock transparency portal, it shows search totals for the last 30 days. For a full record of who searched, ask for the audit log in a public records request.
