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Fresno’s $1.5 Million Surveillance Contract Up for Renewal as Community Pushes Back
Fresno Police Department’s three-year, $1.5 million contract with Flock Safety—a company that provides license plate readers and drones—is about to expire. The city has to decide: renew it with general fund money, or let it die.
A petition demanding the city council reject renewal has gathered more than 2,300 signatures. The Deflock Fresno movement says the cameras lack oversight and create privacy risks the city hasn’t addressed.
The original contract, signed in 2023, was paid through a $23.66 million state grant—the largest police grant awarded to any California department. That grant expires June 1, 2027. If the city renews, the money comes from the general fund this time.
The contract was amended three times by the city manager. The last amendment added $136,500 for more cameras and software, and brought the Department of Public Utilities into the agreement.
Fresno PD says it operates roughly 70 Flock cameras. Fresno Resistance, a local activist group, counts about 205. The first cameras went up near North Blackstone and East Shaw on July 3, 2025.
The cameras capture vehicle models and license plates. That data gets organized by artificial intelligence and uploaded to nationwide databases. Originally stored for 30 days, the company says it will cut that to seven days starting January 1, 2027—unless the data ties to an active case.
“This doesn’t make the community feel closer,” said Alfred Aldrete, co-founder of Fresno Resistance. “This is going to make our police department lazy, just like students using ChatGPT for homework.”
Fresno PD posted statistics claiming 71% of homicide cases and 39% of shooting cases used Flock cameras in 2026. Supporters, including City Council President Mike Karbassi, say the cameras reduce crime.
Karbassi told The Collegian the city wants to “be thoughtful and deliberate in evaluating any use of this technology, ensuring that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect privacy and civil liberties.”
Critics aren’t buying it. Aldrete pointed to the vacant position in the Fresno Office of Independent Review—the office responsible for internal police investigations—as proof of a “lack of oversight.”
“We are demanding more public insight and more public outreach,” Aldrete said.
The company’s own track record raises questions. Earlier this year, Texas law enforcement used Flock data from Illinois to track a Texas resident who traveled for abortion care. Flock responded by blocking Texas agencies from accessing Illinois data.
Concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement access persist. Flock’s website says ICE does not have direct access to the data. Fresno PD says it doesn’t share data with ICE or other federal groups.
The cameras don’t use facial recognition, according to Flock’s website. They do allow “characteristic searches”—looking up a car by color and shape.
The Breakdown
- The original contract: $1.5 million over three years, starting in 2023, paid from a $23.66 million state grant.
- The state grant expires June 1, 2027. Any renewal comes from city general funds.
- The city manager amended the contract three times, adding $136,500 for more cameras and bringing in the Department of Public Utilities.
- Data storage: currently 30 days, dropping to seven days starting January 1, 2027—unless tied to an active case, in which case it stays indefinitely.
- The company will add “Audit Assistance” features: multi-authorization requirements and an independent cybersecurity review by Bishop Fox.
What This Means for You
The city council will decide whether to keep paying for this with general fund money, the same pot that pays for every other city service. The city office responsible for investigating police conduct sits vacant. If you think the crime statistics the department cited justify the expenditure, or if you have concerns about oversight, you’ll want to make that known before the council votes.
What You Can Do
The Deflock Fresno petition is still collecting signatures—search “Deflock Fresno” to find it. The city council will have to vote on renewal; watch the council meeting agendas at fresno.gov for when the item comes up. Public comment is allowed at every city council meeting.
What to Watch
The framing here is crime reduction versus privacy risk. The Office of Independent Review—the office that’s supposed to investigate internal police matters—is vacant.
This started as grant-funded. Renewing it means the general fund picks up the bill. That’s money the city could spend on something else. Whether 70 or 205 cameras (the city and activists can’t even agree on the count) are worth whatever else doesn’t get funded is a question the budget won’t answer by itself. The Texas case shows Flock data has been used in ways that raised concerns.
