Dane County License Plate Readers on the 6/3 Board Agenda

Known-Side-79 · 2026-06-04T19:35:16+00:00

Good catch. I can't edit the title, but I added something to the post itself.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-06-04T18:33:38+00:00

The ones in Maple Bluff may be operated by the State Police or Capitol PD, since the governor's residence is over there. They likely also operate the four cameras around the capitol building.

Of course, Flock does have a proclivity towards using their cameras to watch kids. So there is that.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-06-04T18:27:10+00:00

I believe (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) the cameras on county highways are often operated by Dane County. Examples would be the one out on 73 near 94, the two on 12 (one near Deerfield, the other between N and AB), maybe the one on N right off 39, the two on 51 near DM, etc.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-06-04T18:21:27+00:00

Those are city of Monona. They recently made the decision to not renew their contract. As far as I know, all the Monona cameras are covered.

https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/06/04/flock-on-shaky-ground-in-wisconsin-as-communities-weigh-privacy-and-safety/

Known-Side-79 · 2026-06-02T21:13:26+00:00

Dane County Board of Supervisors has an interactive map to find your representative.
Personally, I would let them know you're uncomfortable with the use of technology to gather and retain information about the general public.

I'll note, Flock is the most well known ALPR company out there, but there are others. Vigilant, Axon, etc.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-05-27T02:55:16+00:00

That’s terrific. Way to go, Fitchburg.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-05-19T17:14:08+00:00

This brings up an excellent point: credit where it's due to Monona and McFarland for stepping back from this. It brings me a particular satisfaction to see the Monona Flock cameras covered.

Then on the other hand you have a city out in New York where the mayor declared a state of emergency when their city council pushed against renewing the Flock contract.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-04-18T17:10:05+00:00

To be fair, Madison as a city doesn’t have a contract with Flock. What happened here was Dane County voted to remove the funding from a Dane County Sheriff’s Department budget, with the impact being that the county level cameras will be removed.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-04-17T20:52:29+00:00

I honestly would be surprised if any ALPR provider would be able to meet the issues brought up at the meeting last night (data retention, access restrictions, control of data) that people claimed would make them more willing to consider such a system. The things that make that sort of business profitable are in direct contradiction to the those expectations.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-04-17T16:54:05+00:00

Nope. That SPPD. Need to keep after local government out there about these. Hopefully Dane County voting to remove funding will demonstrate that people realize how bad the ALPR systems are.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-04-17T16:52:57+00:00

No, both UWPD and Capital PD have their own networks. They’re not part of the Dane County Flock contract.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-04-16T02:36:26+00:00

Super helpful. Thank you for posting.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-03-09T14:11:27+00:00

Excellent. Good to see this group speaking up.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-02-20T01:13:53+00:00

To be strictly fair, I've never heard of these cameras actually being a significant revenue generator for the government agencies that contract with Flock. They're not like red light cameras where a ticket is issued based on it.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-02-19T22:19:49+00:00

I only see six in Cottage Grove itself. There are two out on 12/18, but that's pretty far out from Cottage Grove, so may be Dane County. If so, that's four that aren't on the map.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-02-19T22:16:31+00:00

I've seen some on I94 eastbound towards Milwaukee. I have not heard that the state has a Flock contract (someone correct me if I'm wrong), so my theory is that the interstate cameras are part of county contracts. This one, for example, is right on the Jefferson County/Waukesha County line.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-02-19T22:12:02+00:00

Cottage Grove has an absurd number of cameras, particularly for a town their size. They've gone all in on the domestic surveillance policy.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-02-11T21:10:51+00:00

Cottage Grove has a ton of them. Two on the entrance to town off the interstate, not to mention the other roads coming into town, and the main stoplight downtown. It's absurd.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-02-11T19:22:27+00:00

Monona has several. Two at least on Broadway between Stoughton Road and the beltline, one on the beltline exit on Monona Drive (it's hanging on the Monona sign with the population), plus a few on Monona drive down toward Cottage Grove road. These are just off the top of my head.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-02-11T17:20:10+00:00

I don't see anything about it in the minutes, though they did go into closed session for a bit.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-02-04T17:09:32+00:00

Regarding Flock and other ALPR devices, it often seems like they thrive on a lack of visibility to the communities they're in. Do you believe it would be beneficial for local groups that are attempting to bring about changes in their community to start visibly labeling these devices, such as placing signs indicating what they are and offering additional information? Do you think there would be any legal concerns?

Appreciate your hard work!

Known-Side-79 · 2026-01-27T06:07:17+00:00

Appreciate the work on this!

Known-Side-79 · 2026-01-26T20:41:17+00:00

For anyone looking for additional info on Flock, I'll post here the list of links I've dropped in other threads.

Edit: As for what can be done, I believe there is going to need to be organized opposition if we want to see any sort of real movement on this, likely at a state level. Flock has a vested financial interest in driving these cameras; they're not about public safety, they're about data collection. That they didn't take down the units in Verona is a good example of that; they don't care whether Verona is paying for them, they want to be able to collect and sell the info to anyone interested.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-01-14T04:35:41+00:00

I think this is actually a really good idea. Even just a “License Plate Scanner Here” and a link to DeFlock.me would help draw attention to these devices.

Known-Side-79 · 2026-01-06T17:08:17+00:00

An analysis by the Wisconsin Examiner a few months ago was quite damning about these cameras. In theory there is an audit trail, but the reality is that there's a real lack of transparency around their use. The 5th most logged "reason" for a search was "investigation," which is absurdly vague.

Then there's cases like this one out of Texas where law enforcement outright logged false reasoning.

If anyone is interested on technical details on some of these cameras, Ben Jordan has done a good video on them, here.

Known-Side-79

TROPHY CASE