As a resident of Evansville, I am deeply concerned about the implementation of Flock surveillance cameras and Clearview AI in our community. Public safety, personal privacy, and the responsible use of taxpayer funds are issues close to my heart, and the widespread use of these cameras and facial recognition software threatens all three.

Flock surveillance cameras and Clearview AI are promoted as a means of reducing crime, but there is limited evidence to support the claim that they effectively deter criminal activities. According to a study by the Urban Institute, while surveillance technologies have some impact on crime reduction, they are not as significant as increasing community engagement and other proactive policing methods. In addition, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) points out that these cameras and AI software can be misused or can lead to the invasion of personal privacy, wrongful arrest, and operational misuse. 

Clearview's system allows a law enforcement to upload a photo of a face and find matches in a database of billions of images it has collected without consent. It then provides links to where matching images appear online. The company is banned from selling its services to most US companies, after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) took Clearview AI to court in Illinois for breaking privacy law. One of our own Evansville Police Officers violated the terms of its use for personal searches, exposing the likelihood of it being misused to infringe on privacy and safety of our community. When AI systems direct law enforcement strategies—through predictive policing or automated facial identification—they reinforce inequalities that can exacerbate social and infrastructural demands on communities, indirectly contributing to broader societal environmental pressures.

I am requesting that the City Council and County Commission take immediate action to end the use of the FLOCK license-plate surveillance system & Clearview AI software in the City of Evansville & Vanderburgh County, as well as prevent the renewal or expansion of any contracts associated with it.

Several key concerns warrant immediate review:

1. These systems collect data on everyone, not just suspects under investigation.
Unlike targeted surveillance with a warrant, Flock cameras collect data on all passing vehicles, regardless of whether the drivers are suspected of any wrongdoing. Every driver is tracked by time, date, and location, regardless of whether they are involved in criminal activity. This creates a mass-surveillance database on innocent residents, visitors, workers, and families moving throughout the county.

Clearview is used similarly, without a warrant, taking pictures posted by a wide range of people from the internet. The images are turned into faceprints and added to the database, which is then marketed to government and private corporations for comparison to images captured by surveillance cameras. This massive facial recognition system is a threat to our privacy.

2. The data can be accessed, shared, or misused.
FLOCK shares ALPR data with hundreds of agencies—including law enforcement outside Indiana & US Immigration Enforcement—without local oversight. Misidentification, profiling, and misuse have been documented in other cities, leading to wrongful stops, harassment, and lawsuits. Also, Flock footage is accessible to the public. A Washington judge ruled that images captured by Flock cameras are public records under the Washington State Public Records Act, meaning they can be requested by the public. The exposure of Flock cameras to the open internet has highlighted vulnerabilities in surveillance systems, pointing out the lack of security measures on Flock cameras allows for easy access to personal footage, raising significant concerns about civil liberties. 

Clearview AI data is sold to various companies, including private businesses and foreign entities. The company claimed to sell its facial recognition technology only to U.S. domestic law enforcement agencies, but the list includes many foreign entities and private businesses such as Macy's, Walmart, and the NBA. This raises concerns about the privacy and legality of Clearview AI's data sales, as it has been used to identify individuals without their consent. The company's practices have led to fines and bans by multiple US states and municipalities, and other countries for violating privacy laws, and investigations in the U.S. and other countries.

3. FLOCK has no independent validation showing it significantly reduces crime.
Independent audits in other jurisdictions have found no measurable decrease in crime attributable to Flock ALPR systems. Crime trends remain consistent with or without these cameras, questioning whether this is an effective use of public resources.

There is also no peer-reviewed, independent study or third-party research that quantitatively demonstrates Clearview AI significantly reduces crime rates. Most available information is anecdotal or provided by Clearview AI itself.

4. The system puts the city and county at legal and financial risk.
Across the country, Flock ALPR programs are now facing litigation for unconstitutional search practices and improper data retention. Continuing this program could expose Vanderburgh County and its municipalities to costly legal challenges.

Clearview AI is in ongoing settlement disputes with states. The settlement class—which includes a nationwide class as well as subclasses of consumers in Illinois, California, New York, and Virginia—is expected to include 125,000 members.

5. The system puts the financial burden on taxpayers without inclusion or transparency on its installation or activities.
The Evansville Police Department has not provided FOIA requested information (November 24, 2025) on the policy or budget for its contract with the Flock as of 1/9/2026. VCSO's Flock sales contract, plus terms and conditions for 17 Falcon model cameras, total cost is $240,050 for 60 months, expires 11/14/2028, paid annually at $46,500. County budget line is 10001050-363000 Equipment Lease & Rent.

There will be a follow-up FOIA for Evansville Police Department and Vanderburgh County Sheriff Department for Clearview AI contracts. Generally, costs for large organizations like law enforcement are:  Implementation costs for onboarding the software $5,000 to $50,000, customization might incur extra fees, generally $500–$5,000, and training costs start at $200–$2,000.

6. The environmental harm of AI use in law enforcement, particularly involving facial recognition companies such as Clearview AI, is multilayered. 

AI systems demand substantial computational infrastructure, including data centers and cloud servers, which consume massive amounts of electricity and water, contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, and require rare minerals whose extraction can devastate ecosystems. Companies such as Clearview AI, which collect extensive biometric databases, require constant data ingestion, storage, and model retraining, amplifying cumulative environmental costs while raising concerns about sustainable AI deployment in the law enforcement sector. Highlighting an urgent need for regulation that balances technological utility with sustainability and ecological responsibility.

7. Many communities are now rejecting or discontinuing FLOCK and Clearview AI.
Cities such as Minneapolis; Oakland; Boulder; Somerville; and multiple counties in California and Colorado have already banned or restricted ALPR systems due to the risks involved. The City of Evansville & Vanderburgh County should join the growing list of communities choosing transparency, accountability, and privacy.

8. The community was never meaningfully included in the decision.
Major surveillance decisions should require open public debate—not quiet installation. Many residents were unaware that their movements were being recorded and stored by these private companies. For more than a year, key city and county leaders − and the public − remained largely in the dark about the Evansville Police Department’s use of Clearview AI software.

Requested Action
I respectfully request that the Evansville City Council and the Vanderburgh County Commission:
1.  Suspend all current FLOCK ALPR and Clearview AI operations in Vanderburgh County.
2. Decline any contract renewals or expansions for FLOCK, Clearview AI, or similar surveillance systems.
3. Hold a public hearing to allow residents to voice concerns and learn how their data has been collected and shared.
4. Require full transparency regarding any surveillance technology used by law enforcement agencies operating within the county.

Ending this system is not about obstructing law enforcement, it is about protecting the rights, privacy, and constitutional freedoms of every person in our community. We can support public safety without turning our cities into permanent surveillance zones.

Thank you for your time and consideration.