CLAWSON, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Residents and outside activists worried about privacy and government surveillance got their wish when the Clawson City Council voted May 5 against renewing the city’s license plate reader contract – but the decision quickly triggered a wave of backlash and police department drama.

The debate over Flock Safety cameras stretched across two council meetings in April and May, featuring emotional testimony from both supporters and critics, questions about privacy rights, and one very public badge drop that made City Hall feel more like reality TV than a routine local government meeting.

What is Flock?

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Flock Safety cameras are automated license plate reader systems that capture still images of passing vehicles and compare plate numbers against law enforcement databases tied to stolen cars, wanted suspects and criminal investigations. Supporters say the cameras help police solve crimes quickly and track suspicious vehicles, while critics argue the technology raises concerns about government surveillance, data collection and privacy for everyday drivers.

The Oakland County suburb of roughly 11,500 Clawson City residents has been using Flock Safety cameras at four locations around town to help identify suspects, locate stolen vehicles, find missing people and assist criminal investigations. City officials said the system costs about $12,000 annually after initial funding through federal ARPA dollars.

Police say cameras help crack cases fast.

During the April 21 meeting, Clawson Police Chief Kellie Bauss appeared alongside a representative from Flock Safety to explain how the technology worked and defend its value to law enforcement. Bauss said the cameras recently helped investigators identify a homicide suspect, locate a drive-by shooting suspect and assist in a domestic violence investigation. Still, the renewal was voted down 4-2, prompting Mayor Susan Moffitt to say further discussions were warranted.

“This technology is essential to law enforcement,” Bauss said at the next meeting in May. “The benefits outweigh the potential concerns…it advances our ability to solve crimes that oftentimes we might not have the ability to solve.”

Bauss also pushed back against claims that the cameras represented mass surveillance, describing the system instead as a targeted investigative tool used in response to crimes or missing person cases. Supporters argued that license plate readers are valuable crime-fighting tools already used by more than 180 law enforcement agencies across Michigan.

Opponents at the meetings, many of whom Bauss noted were from outside Clawson, raised concerns about privacy, government tracking and the city’s lack of long-term control over collected data and footage once it was stored.