Special Joint Human Rights Commission / City Council Meeting - November 12th, 2026

The Richfield City Council and Human Rights Commission held a joint meeting on November 12, 2026 (the meeting metadata lists November 13 UTC) to discuss the city’s Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) contract, data privacy, security, oversight, and use of the system by police. The Police Chief said Richfield has 10 fixed readers costing $3,000 each, or $30,000 annually, and described the system as an investigative tool. He estimated that replacing the system’s investigative capacity with additional police staffing could cost about $150,000–$175,000 per officer annually. The contract expires March 14, and the city must give 30 days’ notice—by February 14—if it does not wish to renew. A December 1 work session will consider three options: continue with Flock and strengthen safeguards, switch to another technology vendor, or discontinue the cameras and potentially add investigative staff. No contract or spending decision was made at this meeting; the only votes were to adjourn the two meetings.

Discussion focused on data sharing, retention, auditing, possible misuse, and the system’s technical capabilities. The Chief said Richfield’s data is retained for 30 days, searches are audited, and the contract requires Flock to notify the city about subpoenas or similar demands so the city can review them. The city is working to enable a public transparency portal and to assess how Flock was used in cases. Flock’s representative said the company does not sell customer data to the federal government, acknowledged he would follow up on machine-learning and other technical questions, and described planned search-monitoring controls. The Council said the contract is not on automatic renewal and that the December 1 session is informational, with any eventual decision requiring a later Council vote. The Human Rights Commission and Council adjourned by motion.