One of 37 Flock cameras in located across the City of Watsonville. (Amaya Edwards —Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local file)
Watsonville City Council meeting
- 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22.
- Attend at 275 Main St., Top Floor, Watsonville, on Zoom or by phone at 669-254-5252.
- Meeting ID 165 283 0257. The meeting also will be streamed on the city website.
- To comment ahead of the meeting, email [email protected].
- Include “Public Comment” in the subject line.
- In the body of the email, include “12.c Discussion Regarding the Watsonville Police Department’s use of Flock Safety cameras.”
WATSONVILLE >> Amid recent scrutiny of license plate cameras across Santa Cruz County and the nation, the Watsonville City Council on Tuesday is set to discuss the city’s contract with license plate camera company Flock Safety.
Watsonville Police operates 37 Flock cameras, the most in the county, which leaders have credited with locating stolen vehicles, finding suspects of violent crimes and solving hit-and-run investigations.
Advocates with local group Get the Flock Out are pushing the city to end its contract, in part because in 2025 Flock allowed out-of-state law enforcement agencies to access the license plate scans of some California agencies, including Watsonville Police.
In some cases, out-of-state agencies made searches on behalf of federal immigration enforcement. Flock has since removed the ability of California agencies to share data nationwide. The Santa Cruz City Council voted to end the city’s contract with Flock in January.
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Jesse Kathan is a staff reporter for Santa Cruz Local. They hold a master's degree in science communications from UC Santa Cruz.
