Foster terminates Flock Safety camera contract

12 September 2026. [AI first draft. Verify every fact against the source before publishing.]

The Foster Town Council voted on September 12, 2026, to terminate its contract with Flock Safety, ending the town's use of automated license-plate reader cameras. The motion passed by voice vote after nearly two hours of presentation and public testimony. The decision came following a vendor appearance by Carl Bach, a public affairs manager for Flock Safety, who described the technical operation of the devices and their data-handling practices. According to Bach, the cameras capture still images of vehicle rear exteriors on public roads, delete images automatically after a retention period (set to seven days in Foster), require two-factor login and case numbers for searches, and do not perform facial recognition or continuous tracking. He also acknowledged that officers have previously entered false case numbers and fake investigation reasons to conduct searches.

The council had tabled a removal motion at its August 13 meeting pending Flock's presentation. One camera remained in service on Route 6 at the time of the vote. Public testimony included concerns from residents about AI processing, cloud storage through Amazon Web Services, and misidentified plates potentially leading to wrongful stops. An ACLU policy associate noted that plate-reader bills have been introduced annually since 2022 without passage and that a legislative working group is preparing guardrail proposals. A town records manager raised questions about whether the initial contract received required financial review [verify: initial contract cost and review process]. State Senator Gordon Rogers, who also spoke, advocated for statewide guardrails rather than a patchwork of local policies. Some residents and first responders argued the cameras were useful tools for public safety.

Foster residents can now review their town council meeting recording and request any data retention or search records related to the contract period through public records requests. Other municipalities may examine Foster's contract termination and the factors the council weighed when deciding whether to maintain or cancel plate-reader agreements.

Read the original reporting: Uprise RI.