Watsonville council is betraying the community by approving Flock surveillance cameras

Quick Take

Watsonville leaders betrayed the community on Sept. 9 by approving 17 more Flock Safety surveillance cameras, writes a countywide grassroots coalition that opposes the cameras. The 5-2 vote means Watsonville will have 37 cameras — more than any other city in Santa Cruz County — even as critics warn the devices erode privacy and funnel sensitive data to a Georgia company with ties to federal immigration agencies. Supporters claim the cameras deter crime, but here, the authors cite studies and investigative reports showing no evidence of real crime reduction. The authors urge all cities to reconsider approval of cameras.

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On Sept. 9, the Watsonville City Council betrayed our community by subjecting residents and visitors to 17 new mass surveillance automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras operated by the Flock Safety company, in addition to the 20 already installed.

Watsonville claims to be a staunch protector of its immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities, but five of seven councilmembers voted to add additional cameras to the current total of 20 already installed, making the city the most heavily surveilled in the county, with quadruple the number of cameras in Capitola (10) or Santa Cruz (eight).

Thanks to Watsonville Mayor Maria Orozco and Councilmember Vanessa Quiroz-Carter for voting “no.” We hope the “yes” votes of Casey Clark, Jimmy Dutra, Eduardo Montesino, Ari Parker and Kristal Salcedo reflect a misunderstanding about available facts. Flock cams take photographs of every vehicle that passes them, 24 hours a day. This data is stored not by local police, but by Flock, based in Georgia, which recently admitted to allowing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “backdoor” access to the ALPR data.

As dozens of news articles, including in Lookout, have revealed, California police departments – with whom our local departments share data automatically – and Flock itself have violated state laws (Senate Bill 34, 2015) and illegally shared location data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security and CBP. There is evidence that Flock is also violating state laws requiring certification for alarm and “safety” companies.

During the Watsonville council meeting, after the police presentation, the council told the roughly 50 county residents who showed up to speak about the ALPRs that their comments would be limited to one minute, rather than the usual two.

Undaunted, community members offered facts from respected news outlets, from investigative articles and statistical reports. They also shared well-founded fears and experiences as members of the Latiné community and other marginalized groups. Every single one, without dissent, specifically requested the council not renew the Flock agreement, or pause the contract in order to conduct a deeper community conversation about the implications of both the cameras and contracting with Flock.

Despite all this, the council moved immediately to vote to approve a new, two-year Flock rental agreement adding the 17 new cameras, to the tune of $251,000 over two years. Police officers and councilmembers who support the ALPRs repeated tired myths we hear nationwide.

the crowd at Tuesday's meeting of the Watsonville City Council — Nearly 50 Watsonville residents attended the Sept. 9 meeting at which the Watsonville City Council voted 5-2 to renew the city’s contract with Flock Safety. Credit: Tania Ortiz / Lookout Santa Cruz

Myth: The Watsonville Police Department owns the data, it does not go anywhere and we control it. Wrong. The data lives on servers owned by Flock. Flock has been funded by Palantir founder and JD Vance patron Peter Thiel – through his “Founders Fund.” We wonder how quickly Flock will succumb to pressure from the current administration to share data on whoever is labeled an “enemy.” (Palantir, a mass surveillance company recently boosted by the Trump budget, got its start working specifically with ICE and is now organizing with “DOGE” youth to build out the national surveillance network.)

And because local police share data with other California law enforcement agencies like the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office – which has shared data with ICE – (and many hundreds of others), we have no idea if our local data has been or will be shared with federal agencies. According to Santa Cruz Police Chief Bernie Escalante, all it takes for another police or sheriff’s agency to obtain access to local data is a one-time request related to one “case” (no warrant needed), and thereafter, they retain unlimited search access.

Finally, Flock is now openly acting against the will of local councils; in Evanston, Illinois, after the city council voted to actually remove Flock cams – and did so – Flock reinstalled the cameras at the same sites.

Myth: Flock is an effective tool in fighting crime. Multiple criminology studies show Flock cameras do not reduce crime. Forbes also published a 2024 investigative piece revealing crime reduction claims as clever marketing by Flock and wishful thinking by police.

We understand why police reach for every tool they think will be effective and make officers’ lives a little easier, and we support efforts to prevent and fight real crimes.

Nonetheless, we cannot sacrifice liberty for the illusion of safety. That means protecting our data and protecting our constitutional right to privacy – to be free from warrantless “searches” by law enforcement agencies, the new ICE Gestapo and an unhinged administration which has repeatedly named half of America its enemy.

The Santa Cruz City Council should also reconsider its 2023 approval for up to 22 cameras that the city’s police department is still seeking funding for. Get the Flock Out will continue to challenge all electeds to do their research, understand the stakes involved and vote on the side of our freedoms and the Constitution.

Will local government officials protect us, or leave us exposed?

Get the Flock Out is a countywide grassroots coalition. It includes the following groups:

Center for Farmworker Families

Center for Racial Justice

Indivisible Pajaro Valley

Indivisible Santa Cruz County

Motivating Intergenerational Leadership for Public Advancement (MILPA)

Pajaro Valley for Ethnic Studies and Justice

Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers Executive Council

People’s Aid

Rainbow Defense Coalition

Regeneracion–Pajaro Valley Climate Action