In Casa Grande, our community is facing a critical decision about the deployment of Flock Safety cameras. As reported by Jodie Newell in the Casa Grande Dispatch on August 22, 2026, the local police chief remains unyielding in the face of growing concerns over privacy. This issue is not just about security; it’s about our rights, freedoms, and the kind of community we want to live in.

Mayor and Councilmembers,

Citizens have repeatedly raised serious concerns about Casa Grande’s Flock surveillance system. At this point, continuing to dismiss those concerns as hypothetical is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.

Just this month, Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple announced that his office would not renew its Flock contract, specifically citing Fourth Amendment concerns. (Pinal County⁠)

In Chandler, a routine audit identified suspicious use of the Flock system by a police employee. Chandler immediately shut down access to its 40 Flock cameras and declined to renew the contract. The officer involved later admitted using the system for a personal purpose and resigned. (City of Chandler⁠)

These are not theoretical concerns occurring somewhere across the country. They are occurring in neighboring Arizona jurisdictions.

There are also troubling contradictions in Casa Grande’s own public information.

The City tells residents that only trained, authorized Casa Grande Police Department personnel have access to the technology. Yet the Department’s written policy expressly states that Flock data may be shared with other law-enforcement agencies for broadly defined “criminal justice or public safety purposes.” (Casa Grande⁠)

The City also states that the system does not track individuals. Yet the written policy permits custom hot lists that generate real-time alerts whenever a particular vehicle is detected, and historical searches require a case number and reason but do not generally require a warrant or supervisory approval. (Casa Grande⁠)

And who audits this system? According to Casa Grande’s own policy, the Patrol Deputy Chief oversees audits, division lieutenants review searches flagged by Flock’s auditing software, and questionable searches ultimately go to the Police Chief for disposition. In other words, the current oversight structure is overwhelmingly internal. There is no independent civilian or third-party audit requirement in the policy. (Casa Grande⁠)

Casa Grande plans to operate 100 license-plate readers, 100 pan-tilt-zoom cameras and additional integrated surveillance technology. That is an extraordinary amount of power to place into a single system. (Casa Grande⁠)

I support our police department and I want officers to have effective tools. But supporting law enforcement does not require giving government technology unlimited benefit of the doubt.

The Arizona Constitution expressly states that “No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs…without authority of law.” (Arizona Legislature⁠)

The burden should therefore be on the City to demonstrate that this system is necessary, proportionate and independently accountable—not on citizens to prove that it might someday be abused.

Citizens have asked legitimate questions. They deserve more than reassurance from the same people operating the system.

I am asking this Council to place Flock surveillance on a public agenda, pause further expansion while it is reviewed, commission an independent audit of searches and data sharing, disclose every agency with which Casa Grande Flock data is shared, and establish enforceable limits on historical searches, retention and outside access.

Additionally, residents need assurances that the City commit that it will not replace Flock with Axon, Motorola, or another automated license-plate surveillance system without a public hearing and Council vote!

Listening to citizens after a surveillance system is abused is too late.

The time for meaningful oversight is before it happens here.

By pausing the Flock Camera Program pending a detailed review, Casa Grande can become a model for balancing technological advancement with civil liberties. I urge you to join me in calling on our local government to commit to this review and put community interests first.

Sign this petition to demand an independent public review of the Flock Camera Program in Casa Grande and protect our privacy and values.