Chandler Ends Use of Flock License-Plate Readers After Audit Anomaly
Chandler has ended its use of Flock automated license-plate readers after an audit identified an anomaly, changing the city’s plans for a contract-renewal discussion and putting the future of its automated surveillance system into question.
The city had been preparing to consider renewing its Flock contract at the Chandler City Council’s regular meeting on Aug. 13, 2026. That discussion now follows the decision to stop using the current system and an audit finding whose specific nature Chandler has not publicly identified.
The change affects a network of about 40 cameras used by Chandler. It also puts questions about license-plate data, privacy and any replacement technology ahead of the City Council and the public.
How Chandler’s camera network grew
Chandler installed the first 14 Flock cameras in March 2024. The city later approved 26 additional cameras in May 2025, bringing the network to approximately 40 cameras.
Flock systems capture license-plate information and images of vehicles. The technology can give law enforcement a way to identify or track vehicles connected to investigations, but the local contract debate centered on how the information is handled as well as how the cameras are used.
Before the contract decision, council members raised questions about data storage, access and privacy. Those issues become more significant after the audit prompted Chandler to end its use of the system, because any future proposal will have to address how automated license-plate information is collected, retained and accessed.
Renewal plans changed before council discussion
The City of Chandler’s official meeting calendar lists the Aug. 13 regular City Council meeting. That meeting had been identified as the setting for consideration of the Flock contract renewal.
Ending the current use of Flock means the city’s next decision will not simply be a routine continuation of the existing contract. Chandler has indicated that any replacement technology would have to go through a public process, giving the council and residents an opportunity to evaluate a new proposal and its safeguards.
That public process could be important whether Chandler considers another automated license-plate system or a different approach to vehicle-related investigations. The city has not adopted a final replacement policy, so no replacement system has been established.
Questions remain about the audit and existing data
Chandler has not publicly identified the exact anomaly found in the audit. The available reporting also does not establish whether the cameras were physically removed immediately, whether access to the system stopped first, or how the timing of those steps was handled.
Those are separate questions from the decision to end use of the contract. Equipment could remain in place even after a city stops using a system, while stored information and newly collected data may be governed by different policies. The city’s future public discussion will determine how much of that process is clarified.
For Chandler residents, the decision changes the city’s police-surveillance tools before a scheduled renewal debate. It also moves data governance to the center of the next conversation: what information a system may collect, who can access it, how long it may be stored and what public safeguards should apply.
The next known public milestone is the Chandler City Council meeting scheduled for Aug. 13, 2026. The council’s agenda and any later public proposal will show whether the city seeks replacement technology, adopts additional safeguards or takes another approach after ending its use of Flock cameras.
Sources
- City Council Meetings and Agendas, City of Chandler
- Chandler City Council delays vote on Flock camera contract, KJZZ
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