Protect Rhode Islanders Privacy Prohibiting Municipal Contracts with FlockSafety

I respectfully urge you to support and advance policies that prohibit Rhode Island’s cities and towns from entering into contracts with Flock Safety or similar automated license plate reader (ALPR) surveillance companies. While public safety is a core responsibility of government, it should not require the routine collection of detailed location data on law-abiding residents. Flock Safety’s technology creates searchable records of vehicle movements over time, enabling the reconstruction of where individuals travel and the inference of sensitive personal patterns. Although marketed for criminal investigations, these systems inevitably gather extensive data on people who are not suspected of any wrongdoing. The broad deployment of ALPR systems shifts policing away from targeted investigations based on individualized suspicion toward large-scale data collection that may be searched later. This approach raises concerns about privacy, freedom of movement, and the potential for misuse, including data breaches, mission creep, and secondary sharing with outside agencies. Rhode Island has a strong tradition of protecting individual liberty. Residents should not lose constitutional protections simply by driving on public roads. Law enforcement already has access to effective tools that operate within constitutional limits, including warrants, judicial oversight, and targeted investigative methods. These approaches can support public safety without creating a permanent, statewide tracking infrastructure. I respectfully ask you to support policies or legislation that: Prohibit municipalities from contracting with Flock Safety or similar ALPR surveillance providers. Prohibit statewide or regional vehicle-tracking networks without individualized suspicion and, where required, judicial authorization. Limit the collection, retention, and sharing of vehicle location data. Ensure any future surveillance technology is governed by clear statutory authority, transparency, independent oversight, and constitutional safeguards. Technology should improve public safety without undermining fundamental freedoms. Rhode Island has an opportunity to lead by ensuring that surveillance tools are used narrowly, responsibly, and with strong protections for privacy. I respectfully ask you to protect the constitutional rights of all Rhode Islanders by opposing municipal contracts with Flock Safety and similar mass-surveillance providers, and by supporting strong privacy safeguards. Thank you for your time, leadership, and consideration of this important issue.