Queen Creek council looks at enhancing safeguards on license plate readers

Changes to town ordinances meant to enhance safeguards on the use of automated license place readers are set to be taken up by the Queen Creek Town Council at its upcoming meeting.

On Aug. 12, the town announced it was looking at ways to enhance safeguards already in place to oversee access to automated license place readers, conduct audits and ensure data-sharing is limited to Arizona law-enforcement agencies.

At its Sept. 2 meeting, the council will consider:

• Potential policy changes to further restrict access and data sharing
• Potential ordinance changes to enhance accountability, making it a misdemeanor to misuse ALPR technology
• Available technology and potential contract changes

Details on the changes are not yet available, with the town’s director of communications and marketing, Constance Halonen Wilson, stating that staff is still working on the modifications.

Specifics are expected to be added to the council’s agenda packet before the meeting.

In an interview on the day the town announced the proposed changes, Mayor Julia Wheatley said the action was “not complaint driven. It’s not based off of misuse. We’re just doing a proactive approach.”

“We want to make sure that our residents recognize that we are making sure we are balancing that technology with accountability and even going as far as making it a crime to misuse this technology,” she said.

Currently, the Queen Creek Police Department has a contract with Flock and is beta testing Axon products.

Queen Creek Police Chief Randy Brice said the upcoming discussions and possible action would be useful in explaining to the public how the technology works and how it is used by the department.

“I want to be clear though with this technology; it only identifies vehicle information, and what I mean specifically is the license plate that’s displayed on the vehicle and the characteristics of the vehicle that are visible from the rear of the car,” Brice said in an Aug. 12 interview. “It doesn’t identify drivers, people, it’s not continuous tracking, it’s not mass surveillance.”

In the 2025-26 fiscal year, the automated license plate readers provided leads in more than 2,400 cases, Brice said.

Wheatley and Brice emphasized that the automated license plate readers are just one tool in QCPD’s crime-fighting toolbox.

Other municipalities across the Valley are taking a more hard-line approach to the cameras.

On Aug. 7, Chandler announced it was ending its contract with Flock amid what Chandler Police Chief Bryan Chapman said was suspected misuse or unauthorized use of the system “within our department.”

Surprise canceled its Flock contract on Aug. 13 and has requested that all 28 of its cameras be taken down.

Last week, Cave Creek and Tempe also announced that they were canceling their contracts with Flock, with Tempe adding that it was turning off all of its Flock cameras.

The State Press at Arizona State University reported on Aug. 27 that ASU would be keeping its Flock cameras.

Beyond the Valley, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office announced on Aug. 5 that it would not be renewing its contract with Flock for its automated license plate reader cameras citing Fourth Amendment concerns. The move only affects unincorporated areas of the county.

About a week later, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors voted to issue a notice of non-renewal to Flock Group for an agreement on placement of cameras throughout county rights of way.

The Queen Creek Town Council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 2 at Community Chambers, 20727 E. Civic Parkway.

Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.