Rhode Island: 295 Flock cameras deployed, three towns cancel

17 August 2026. [AI first draft. Verify every fact against the source before publishing.]

Rhode Island has deployed at least 295 Flock Safety license plate reader cameras across the state, according to an ACLU inventory updated August 14, 2026. The network includes both municipally owned devices and cameras operated by the Rhode Island State Police. Three Rhode Island towns have canceled their Flock contracts in the past six weeks: South Kingstown's Town Council voted unanimously on July 27 to terminate its agreement and remove approximately six cameras, Narragansett's council voted unanimously to cancel on August 3, and Glocester's voted 4-1 to cancel on August 6. Three additional communities—Little Compton, Warren, and Portsmouth—rejected or halted proposed State Police installations.

The Rhode Island deployments reflect broader expansion patterns. Flock Safety, an Atlanta company, has pitched integrating dashcams from rideshare and delivery vehicles into its network, which would add roughly 350,000 additional devices, though the company told media outlets the partnership with dashcam provider Nexar never materialized. Meanwhile, municipalities operate systems independently: Warwick renewed an 11-camera agreement, and Tiverton operates two cameras with potential to expand to four. Providence's transparency portal, last updated July 24, showed 60 cameras recording 685,934 vehicle detections in 30 days. The city's policy provides for 30-day vendor data retention, though departments may keep relevant records longer under local retention schedules.

Rhode Island currently lacks comprehensive statewide regulation of license plate reader data. No official statewide inventory exists, and data retention rules vary by municipality. A proposed bill, H8077, introduced February 27 to regulate collection, sharing, and search logs, was recommended for further study on March 24 but did not become law. The ACLU cautions that Rhode Island's small size means existing cameras can capture extensive driving patterns, and the true number of deployed devices remains unclear because some departments have not disclosed detailed information. Residents can request their town's council agendas and contract records to determine whether local ALPR agreements are active, when they renew, and what data retention policies apply.

Read the original reporting: Uprise RI.