With Flock gone, Tempe needs alternative with similar investigative value

Bill Richardson

Submitted photo/Bill Richardson

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OPINION — Tempe has decided to discontinue Flock license-plate readers that have helped law enforcement connect cases and solve crimes.

Mayor Corey Woods, in a statement, said: “We have to be able to provide public safety in a way that maintains the trust of our community. For Tempe, that means taking these cameras down.”

Woods’ statement raises a question: If Tempe already trusts police officers to use deadly force, make arrests and handle sensitive FBI and Arizona Department of Public Safety information, what specific risk makes this investigative technology unacceptable?

If misuse is the concern, the city should identify the gap in its safeguards and implement stronger oversight that would require regular audits, tighter access, transparent reporting and meaningful consequences for misuse. Those safeguards would address privacy concerns while preserving a tool that supports crime solving.

Tempe faces real public-safety challenges. The city has 35 Part 1 serious-felony crimes committed per 1,000 residents, compared with a statewide average of 22. Nearby and comparable cities report lower rates: Glendale and Phoenix at 31, Mesa and Scottsdale at 20 and Chandler at 16.

According to FBI data, Tempe PD has 2.6 law-enforcement employees per 1,000 residents. This does not include approximately 50 Arizona State University officers who patrol campus and nearby areas. Comparable figures include Mesa at 2.56, Scottsdale at 2.51, Glendale at 2.32, Phoenix at 2.19 and Chandler at 1.84.

Tempe residents deserve transparency about unresolved sexual-assault cases, unsolved property crimes, limited Real Time Crime Center coverage and whether the city has fully operational criminal intelligence and analysis capability. Those questions matter more, not less, as City Council eliminates Flock.

Now, the Council needs to present a concrete alternative with comparable investigative value to replace Flock and license-plate readers. Residents deserve a direct answer. 

Bill Richardson is a retired master police officer II and criminal intelligence unit supervisor for the Mesa Police Department, and a former member of the Tempe Police Citizen Review Board and the Family Justice Commission. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.