ALERT: GTFO is on the Santa Cruz City Council agenda for THIS TUESDAY, January 13th. Emails requested in advance and estimated time to show up is 3:30.
Details here: https://mailchi.mp/596feaeecdec/gtfo-dec8th-6120640?e=5b2fd2acc2
From our January 2026 newsletter:
At an upcoming January meeting, the Santa Cruz City Council will have an item on the agenda regarding Flock ALPRs (automated license plate readers). We need your help to continue to pressure the Council to cancel their contract with Flock Safety – Get the Flock Out of Santa Cruz!
Get the Flock Out is against Flock ALPRs and their massive invasion of privacy in Santa Cruz County. The fight has become more urgent with the current federal administration’s attempts to terrorize all immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, journalists, activists and women; and to build huge databases with detailed information about the entire population (yes, that includes you).
As reported in multiple news articles, our local police departments, including the Santa Cruz and Capitola PD’s, have repeatedly violated state and local sanctuary law by allowing ICE, CBP, and out-of-state law enforcement agencies access to the databases fed and controlled by Flock Safety, a nefarious corporation that is unserious about data security, with close ties to the Trump administration. We have also discovered that Flock cameras and/or databases are easily hacked and may be available to criminal and foreign actors on the dark web. The only way to guarantee that our personal information will not be shared with wrongdoers is to turn off the cameras.
The Santa Cruz City Council will be discussing the Flock cameras at an upcoming meeting. We don’t yet know if this will be on the agenda on Jan 13, or if this matter will be delayed until the meeting on Jan 27th. We are working with members of the council to find out when Flock will be up for a vote – we will send out another email blast when we know the details.
From now until then, we ask you to continue to pressure the Council to cancel the Flock contract. Email citycouncil@santacruzca.gov (Note: email submitted to this address is public record.)
Please sign our Change.org petition and share it with your friends.
Please pencil in Jan 13th and Jan 27th on your calendar, and be ready to move.
For lots more information about ALPRs, including an action toolkit, see https://www.gettheflockout.org/.
Background
Flock automated license plate readers (ALPRs) are now installed in at least 5,000 communities across the United States. Police and sheriffs departments are already misusing the data collected, and highly questionable searches and data transfers have occurred in high numbers.
ICE and Homeland Security are accessing this data–indeed, the readers in the city of Santa Cruz were supposed to be obtained through a Department of Homeland Security grant, but that money came out of the general fund instead. Now, the SCPD is hoping to install 14 more ALPRs through DHS grants. One woman was tracked through the national Flock system by a Texas police department after having an abortion. Police departments and federal agencies already share a casual culture of camaraderie and data sharing.
Our city councils and other government bodies should remove these cameras ASAP. We do not need to contribute to the mass surveillance infrastructure in this nation, especially under an authoritarian regime. See this Moment of Truth Dispatch article for more.
Actions you can take to remove ALPRs from your community:
- Sign on to our campaign! Please email us at GTFOSCC@proton.me to add your name, title and/or organization as a supporter of this campaign (or if you have questions)
- Send a letter to Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and Capitola City Councils. Please copy/paste the template in ths toolkit. Add/edit/amend as you see fit.
- Do you live elsewhere in Santa Cruz County, and want to email your elected officials? Click here.
THANK YOU FOR HELPING KEEP ALL OF US SAFE BY SPEAKING OUT AGAINST ALPRS!!!
Showing Up for Racial Justice-Santa Cruz County, CA 