The Monmouth Police Department will not renew its contract with Flock Safety for automated license plate reader cameras when the current agreement expires in December, Police Chief Joe Switzer told the Monmouth City Council on Monday,
“As part of the renewal process, I’ve assessed the cost in the system and the measurable benefits that the department receives from the system,” Switzer said during the council meeting. “In my assessment, the cost of benefits is not there to continue the expenditure of funds.”
The current agreement with Flock expires Dec. 4 and an automatic 24-month renewal would have taken effect Dec. 5, if the contract was not canceled at least 30 days before that.
Monmouth resident Bob Rogers launched a petition calling for the contract to not be renewed and for the cameras to be removed. It had collected nearly 600 signatures at the time of the city council meeting.
Rogers said he opposes Flock because he believes its benefits aren’t adequately measurable and he has concerns about access to the data.
“This is an apolitical issue,” Rogers said. “It’s not Republican. It’s not Democrat. There is no political commentary in this whatsoever.”
Rogers filed multiple Freedom of Information Act requests seeking information about the system. He said the police department declined to provide raw Flock automated license plate reader data, including searches, alerts, and information collected by the cameras. He said the department cited Illinois law that makes the information confidential and exempt from FOIA.
The department did provide incident reports involving Flock, Rogers said. Those included cases involving stolen vehicles and a traffic stop for an expired license plate that led to the discovery of drugs.
The Monmouth Police Department entered into a contract with Flock Safety in 2024 that provided for four Flock Safety Falcon license plate cameras at a cost of $28,400 for the first year and $12,000 annually thereafter.
Following Switzer’s announcement, council members thanked him for the time he spent researching the system and discussing it with them.
