Statesboro renews Flock camera contract for $1.1M over 5 years

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

The Statesboro Police Department secured unanimous City Council approval on August 19, 2026, to renew its Flock Safety contract for five years at a total cost of $1,147,500, or $229,500 annually. The contract covers 54 license plate reader cameras, gunshot detection sensors with two square miles of coverage, and service support. The agreement runs from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2031.

Interim Police Chief Jared Akins justified the renewal by citing investigative outcomes attributed to Flock technology, including contributions to investigations involving 22 stolen vehicle recoveries, four missing persons cases, three robberies, one kidnapping, 12 aggravated assaults, and eight homicides. The department began using Flock cameras in 2022 initially through a trial partnership with Georgia Southern University. Expansion occurred after the first year, with 30 cameras in place by February 2024 under a three-year lease funded by a $565,942 Community Violence Reduction Grant from the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, awarded in June 2023. Eighteen additional cameras were added since that time. The new contract consolidates multiple billing cycles into one aligned with the fiscal year and prevents year-over-year price increases, according to Akins.

Two residents voiced opposition during public comment. Samantha MacGuire expressed concerns about Fourth Amendment privacy rights and noted countrywide resistance to artificial intelligence-driven surveillance cameras. Willow Farmer reported neighborhood concerns about mass surveillance investment. Akins' memo acknowledged responsibilities accompanying Flock access and referenced a written departmental policy designating Flock data as protected, with misuse prohibited under penalty of termination and prosecution.

Residents in other jurisdictions can review their local government agendas and council meeting records to determine whether similar ALPR camera contracts exist, when they expire, and what renewal discussions are scheduled.

Read the original reporting: Statesboro Herald.