What once towered over Tempe streets is now covered with a trash bag. Automatic License Plate Readers, or ALPR cameras, have grown controversial across the nation as companies like Flock and Axon have been accused of privacy misuse and aiding in arrests from federal and local police.
Now, Tempe is beginning the discussion to ban the technology altogether.
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What once towered over Tempe streets is now covered with a trash bag. Automatic License Plate Readers, or ALPR cameras, have grown controversial across the nation as companies like Flock and Axon have been accused of privacy misuse and aiding in arrests from federal and local police.
Now, Tempe is beginning the discussion to ban the technology altogether.
Tempe councilmember Bobby Nichols, one of the newest council members, ran on an agenda of ending the city’s existing contract with Flock, making his presence known at many meetings before he was elected and urging the rest of the council to follow.
The city announced the cancellation of the Flock contract on July 25 at a time when no regular meetings were scheduled and the next scheduled meeting was Aug. 31. In September, the council approved a contract with Axon Enterprise Inc. for equipment but not ALPR cameras.
Following the announcement in July, over 30 Flock cameras in the city were covered with trash bags, while the city says it is still waiting for Flock to remove the cameras.
Mayor Corey Woods said he had spoken to each of the council members and sensed that many of them were against using the ALPR cameras.
“I got the feeling that the council didn’t want to keep doing this,” he said. “You know who your colleagues are. All seven of us are in the community and listening to what our residents want and the overwhelming majority did not want this.”
Woods, however, is still a proponent of the technology, previously sharing that the technology helped find missing children without an Amber Alert and has helped return hundreds of missing vehicles.
He said that due to the potential for misuse and lack of oversight, he wanted to act in the best interest of the community.
“I didn’t want to continue with something that could cause erosion of public trust,” Woods said.
Nichols said he received an “outpouring of support” from the public about ending the contract, as the decision was not a political one, but a concern of public privacy.
Nichols, a member of the Phoenix Democratic socialists organization, said he spoke with a variety of political beliefs about their concerns.
Maricopa Libertarian Party Chair Eric Fowler addressed the council on Aug. 31 wearing a yellow shirt with a camera on it with text that said: “Don’t Spy on Me.” He asked the council to consider examining the data storage methods that Axon uses before approving the contract, but applauded them for choosing to cancel the Flock contract.
“Free people are not subjects. They are not raw material for a company’s models. Any dragnet that catalogs the innocent places plates or faces inverts the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ principle,” Fowler said at the meeting.
An August report from the Cato Institute, a right-leaning think tank based in Washington, D.C., says both Republican and Democratic lawmakers oppose the use of Flock cameras in their communities.
Big businesses use ALPR cameras. Ulta Beauty and Home Depot both use ALPR cameras in their parking lots, and both claim that it is for anti-theft purposes only.
“Like many retailers, we use license plate readers in our parking lots. These cameras are used for the purpose of detecting and preventing theft and protecting the safety of our customers and associates. We do not grant access to our license plate readers to federal law enforcement,” Home Depot says on its website, addressing immigration enforcement.
On Aug. 13 the city of Surprise canceled its contract with Flock after an officer was placed on leave after being accused of using ALPR data for personal reasons.
Officers in Chandler, Apache Junction and Goodyear have all been investigated and accused of data misuse, resulting in either a resignation or suspension of employment.
Axon contract approved
Tempe Council on Sept. 10 passed an ordinance to approve an almost $7 million five-year contract with Axon Enterprise Inc. in a 6-1 vote, with Nichols dissenting.
The ordinance includes a clause that prohibits the city from turning on the automatic license plate reader technology.
Nichols’ freshman colleague Brooke St. George voted to approve the contract with Axon, citing cost-saving measures.
“Item 8A1 was a consolidation of several cost-saving measures saving the city over $3 million,” she said. “I ran on fiscal responsibility, and I believe that a ‘yes’ vote was the most fiscally responsible one to make,” she said.
While Axon Technology still has the power to operate ALPR technology, Tempe says that there has been no misuse or breach of privacy involving collected data.
Sgt. Robert Ferraro, president of the Tempe Officers Association, told the council that he was concerned about the rhetoric surrounding the cameras and wanted the council to focus on what matters in public safety and how technology is used on a daily basis.
“Now we sit here debating whether to forbid certain technologies by adding restrictions to the city code. Maybe we should consider banning Microsoft Word while we’re at it because we don’t like what people say,” he said.
Madeline Bates joined Independent Newsmedia in 2025 as a Phoenix/Tempe reporter. Before graduating college, she spent a semester in Washington as a Congressional reporter in the first 100 days of the second Trump administration. But local news is where her heart is. She is excited to be in Phoenix full time and exploring new parts of the city (as long as they have AC).
Community: After living in East Phoenix for two years, she fell in love with Paradise Valley, Mesa, Tempe, and everywhere in between. She recently discovered the beauty of the South Mountain Reserve and hopes to continue exploring should the weather comply.
Education: Madeline has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and a certificate in Political History and Leadership.
Random Fact: She is a self-taught nail tech. No, she cannot do your nails.
Hobbies: Hiking (when its not 100 degrees), fiction writing, cooking, baking and trying new coffee shops.
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