San Diego Council Committee Votes Unanimously on October 21 to Advance Ending the Flock Plate-Reader Contract: Measure Heads to Full Council
SAN DIEGO, California — In San Diego, in San Diego County, California, the City Council's Budget and Government Efficiency Committee voted unanimously on October 21 to advance a measure that would turn off the city's automated license plate readers and end its contract with Flock Safety. The proposal, from Councilmember Henry Foster III, still needs a vote of the full City Council, and it is not yet clear when that will happen. The vote is the outcome of the committee deliberation GSM reported on October 21.
The San Diego Police Department operates about 500 Flock cameras across the city. Police say the technology helped solve a hate-crime spree against the LGBTQ community and an attempted child kidnapping, and that the department follows strict rules and conducts regular audits; Police Chief Scott Wahl called the committee's decision short-sighted. On the other side, the ACLU Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties, representing the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA), filed suit on September 30 arguing the program violates the California Constitution's right to privacy and seeking to halt it.
Councilmember Stephen Whitburn had earlier withdrawn his support for Flock, saying the cameras should be turned off and the contract canceled, with the savings used to speed up police response times; his switch gives the council at least five votes potentially ready to cancel the contract. Mayor Todd Gloria supports the technology and holds veto power, and overriding a veto would take six of the council's nine votes. The program's future now rests with the full council vote. (GSM, based on reporting by KPBS and NBC 7 San Diego)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 圣迭戈市中心海滨天际线资料图。图片：Mds08011，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Downtown San Diego waterfront skyline, file photo. Photo: Mds08011, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-21San Diego Council Committee to Weigh Rescinding the Flock License-Plate Reader Policy on October 21: Councilmember Whitburn Now Opposes the Cameras as Mayor Gloria, Who Backs the Technology, Holds Veto Power
- 2026-10-22San Diego Council Committee Votes Unanimously on October 21 to Advance Ending the Flock Plate-Reader Contract: Measure Heads to Full CouncilThis story
