🔓 DeFlock My Town← Back to playbook
🏛️ Template

Model Ordinance / Resolution

A plain-language starting point your council member can introduce. It offers a full-stop version and a regulate-if-you-keep-it version. Fill the highlighted blanks for your town, and have local counsel review before introduction.

⚠️ This is a template, not legal advice. Ordinance form, adoption procedure, and legal authority vary by municipality. Adapt to your town's charter and confirm with a local attorney or your council clerk.

Ordinance No. [____]

AN ORDINANCE of the [City/Village] of [Town Name], [State], concerning the use of Automated License Plate Reader ("ALPR") systems, including systems provided by Flock Safety, within the corporate limits.

WHEREAS, ALPR systems capture, log, and store images and location data of vehicles and license plates belonging to residents and visitors who are not suspected of any crime; and

WHEREAS, the aggregation and retention of this location data, and its potential sharing with outside agencies, raises significant privacy and civil-liberties concerns for the residents of [Town Name]; and

WHEREAS, decisions to conduct mass surveillance of a community's movements should be made transparently and accountably by the elected representatives of that community;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the [City/Village] of [Town Name]:

Option A — Termination & Removal

  1. The [City/Village] shall not enter into, renew, or extend any contract for ALPR systems, including with Flock Safety, and any existing contract is hereby directed to be terminated at the earliest date permitted under its terms.
  2. All ALPR hardware owned by or operated on behalf of the [City/Village] within the public right-of-way shall be deactivated and physically removed within [30/60/90] days of the effective date of this ordinance.
  3. All data previously collected by such systems shall be permanently deleted within [30] days, except records specifically preserved pursuant to an active criminal investigation or a lawful court order.

Option B — Strict Regulation (if the system is retained)

  1. Retention limit. ALPR data not linked to a specific, documented investigation shall be automatically and permanently deleted within [24 hours / 7 days / 30 days].
  2. No warrantless sharing. No ALPR data shall be shared with any federal, state, out-of-state, or third-party agency absent a warrant, subpoena, or court order. Bulk or standing data-sharing arrangements are prohibited.
  3. Audit & transparency. Every query of the system shall be logged with the searching officer, timestamp, and stated law-enforcement purpose. A public annual report shall disclose search volume, purposes, any data breaches, and any sharing requests.
  4. Purpose limitation. The system shall be used only for identified serious offenses (e.g., stolen vehicles, active warrants, missing persons) and shall not be used for immigration enforcement, monitoring lawful assembly, or civil traffic-fine automation absent separate authorization.
  5. No expansion without a vote. No additional cameras shall be added without prior public notice and an affirmative vote of Council.

General

  1. This ordinance shall take effect [at the earliest date permitted by law].

PASSED this [__] day of [Month, Year].