Residents urge Ridgecrest council to review Flock license-plate cameras before renewal
March 05, 2026 | Ridgecrest, Kern County, California
This article was created by AI summarizing key points discussed. AI makes mistakes, so for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Please report any errors so we can fix them. Report an error »
Resident Michael Acitra told the city council he has organized a committee to study Ridgecrest’s 24 Flock license-plate/AI cameras and urged the council to bring any renewal or continuation vote into open session.
“My name is Michael Acitra and I have more news concerning the 24 AI powered Flock surveillance cameras operated by the city,” Acitra said, and later added that Mountain View and Oxnard audits found misconfigurations and unauthorized data access that led those agencies to suspend or review their systems. He urged the council to allow his group to “see a demonstration of the Flock system being used in Ridgecrest” and to make any contract continuation a public vote.
Jamie Jones, who said she attended the February 7 discussion about the cameras, asked whether the city had merged the city-attorney edits and removed contract sections she identified as licensing Flock to use city data. The chair replied, “I will meet with the attorney, and we'll have conversations and I'll let you know as soon as I hear from him about steps forward.”
A caller who identified himself on the line (Mike) read excerpts from a letter he said came from a Flock executive defending the company and describing critics as organized activists; the caller said those excerpts and the Mountain View/Oxnard audits reinforced his view that the city should require more rigorous log audits and consider terminating the contract if data-sharing practices cannot be verified.
Why it matters: Council members will decide at some point whether to renew or extend the city’s contract with Flock. Residents told the council they want historical log audits, clearer communication from the vendor, a public demonstration of the system and an open-session vote on any renewal so the community can evaluate privacy and public-safety tradeoffs.
What happens next: The chair said he will meet with the city attorney and report back to the public; no formal council action on the Flock contract was taken at this meeting.
“My name is Michael Acitra and I have more news concerning the 24 AI powered Flock surveillance cameras operated by the city,” Acitra said, and later added that Mountain View and Oxnard audits found misconfigurations and unauthorized data access that led those agencies to suspend or review their systems. He urged the council to allow his group to “see a demonstration of the Flock system being used in Ridgecrest” and to make any contract continuation a public vote.
Jamie Jones, who said she attended the February 7 discussion about the cameras, asked whether the city had merged the city-attorney edits and removed contract sections she identified as licensing Flock to use city data. The chair replied, “I will meet with the attorney, and we'll have conversations and I'll let you know as soon as I hear from him about steps forward.”
A caller who identified himself on the line (Mike) read excerpts from a letter he said came from a Flock executive defending the company and describing critics as organized activists; the caller said those excerpts and the Mountain View/Oxnard audits reinforced his view that the city should require more rigorous log audits and consider terminating the contract if data-sharing practices cannot be verified.
Why it matters: Council members will decide at some point whether to renew or extend the city’s contract with Flock. Residents told the council they want historical log audits, clearer communication from the vendor, a public demonstration of the system and an open-session vote on any renewal so the community can evaluate privacy and public-safety tradeoffs.
What happens next: The chair said he will meet with the city attorney and report back to the public; no formal council action on the Flock contract was taken at this meeting.
View the Full Meeting & All Its Details
This article offers just a summary. Unlock complete video, transcripts, and insights as a Founder Member.
✓
Watch full, unedited meeting videos
✓
Search every word spoken in unlimited transcripts
✓
AI summaries & real-time alerts (all government levels)
✓
Permanent access to expanding government content
30-day money-back guarantee
