Wilton Police Stand By Flock Cameras as Lamont Calls for ALPR Review, Installation Pause

Growing privacy concerns about law enforcement’s use of the Flock Safety surveillance camera system has prompted Gov. Ned Lamont to call for a review and even ask municipalities to stop installing them until guidance comes from the state. The Wilton Police Department, which has deployed the system with 11 Flock cameras in town, however, stands by its use of the technology.

“The use of the Flock Safety technology helps advance our public safety mission by turning vehicle and license plate information into timely, objective leads that support crime prevention, investigation and emergency response,” Deputy Police Chief Robert Cipolla told GOOD Morning Wilton last week. “The Flock Safety platform also supports us by providing the tools for transparent governance such as agency-controlled access to data, audit assistance, offense type analytics and transparency portals.”

Existing Concerns

While all this may be true, many concerns have been expressed around the country about Flock’s capacity — including contractually — to put data into the hands of third parties, including foreign businesses and U.S. government agencies. Critics note that while individual municipalities may be following the letter of the law — and that the Flock Safety Transparency Portal offered through Flock may show some trail of data — there’s no way of knowing for certain whether data is being disseminated and ultimately used by third parties, including other municipalities in other states.

Among the primary concerns are that data can be used to track individuals and create profiles that intrude on personal privacy, including assembling data on people’s private actions and locations, including visits for medical, religious and political purposes.

More recently, according to the Washington Post and CNN, there have been dozens of reported incidents of tampering with or vandalism of cameras all around the country, including one just this week in Milford, CT.

While there have been no reports of such extreme actions in Wilton, there are some residents who have deep concerns about privacy invasion and data safety, including Michael Salit, who expressed his fears about the misuse of technology.

“I’m a strong advocate for privacy, something that seems impossible to achieve let alone maintain in the evolving world. Passive invasive technology like the FlockSurveillance Camera system is a perfect example,” Salit said. “The cameras are always on and recording every vehicle that passes with no filter without cause. The potential for abuse is great and growing.”

Resident William Traub hopes the town will reconsider using the cameras, pointing to past national examples of risks to privacy, civil rights and public safety. “After reviewing the research and documented track record of this technology, I believe the risks to residents’ privacy and civil liberties far outweigh the claimed benefits,” he said.

It’s become an issue about which Gov. Lamont has grown increasingly vocal.

“I am in agreement with the many residents across Connecticut who are seeing this technology being implemented by their towns and are wondering what types of privacy protections are being implemented for ordinary people who are just going about their lives,” Lamont said. “I understand that this equipment is intended to keep our towns and roads safe — and that’s a good thing — but we must have clear policies in place regarding what is happening with this data, who has access to it, and how it can be used.”

Lamont has called on the Connecticut Police Officers Standards and Training Council to conduct a review of the increased use of safety cameras and automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology by Connecticut municipalities. He’s asking cities and towns to immediately pause installation on new cameras and ALPRs until the council has finalized its guidance.

Cipolla, speaking on behalf of Wilton Police, said department officials understood the sentiment around police use of technology, calling it a conversation that has existed throughout history.

“We understand why people may have questions about privacy,” he said. “These are fair questions and we are glad to have these conversations.”

Cipolla said the department has used some form of ALPR for more than 10 years, beginning with mobile devices affixed to police vehicles.

Wilton’s Agreement With Flock

“In November 2024, we entered into an agreement with the company Flock Safety to pivot to fixed ALPR locations,” he said. “In March 2025, the first devices were installed, and we began to see immediate positive public safety outcomes.”

“The implementation of the technology has been a game changer in our ability to proactively deter crime and enhance investigations,” he said. “Since implementation, ALPRs have contributed to 56 successful outcomes, 35 cleared cases, 20 investigative leads generated, three stolen vehicles recovered, and 21 arrests.”

“At present, we have 11 locations throughout town at an annual subscription cost of $3,000 per device for a total amount of $33,000,” he said, though the contract lists an annual recurring amount of $36,000. [Editor’s note: Cipolla told GMW that while the original contract referenced 12 devices, the department scrapped the 12th device due to installation issues at the proposed location, with no plans right now to add additional locations. “As with any public safety technology, decisions to expand or scale back the program will continue to be guided by identified needs and outcomes demonstrated over time.”]

According to the terms and conditions of Wilton’s agreement with Flock, while Flock says it neither owns nor sells customer data, there are stipulations for its use, including distribution to third-party recipients upon customer request.

“Customer acknowledges that such data may be viewed, recorded, duplicated, stored, saved, reproduced, modified, displayed, distributed, and retained by Recipient for a period longer than Flock’s standard retention period and hereby provides consent to such retention period,” the agreement states regarding data distribution.

While he notes that Wilton controls all Flock data collected in town, Cipolla said it is widely distributed and shared.

“Presently we share our data with 63 law enforcement agencies in the State of Connecticut and 25 out-of-state agencies in either New York, Massachusetts or Rhode Island,” he said, standing by the practice as part of the department’s work in law enforcement.

“In 2026, crime holds no boundaries,” Cipolla said. “The offenders who victimize our community members and businesses are doing the same in neighboring towns, counties and states. Information sharing amongst law enforcement agencies is critical to keeping our communities safe.”

The Question of Trust

“At the end of the day, the use of any technology by government, in particular by police, is about trust,” Cipolla said. “We are fortunate to serve a community with whom we share a strong bond of trust and legitimacy.”

How far trust can extend beyond the Wilton borders, however, is part of the debate — in particular, whether certain divisions of the federal government can be trusted to follow proper procedure and protocol in relation to the data gathered through the Flock system.

Two distinct laws expanded the power of the federal government to subpoena data from private companies without having to provide notice. The first of these was the Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986 and the second was the Patriot Act of 2001.

While there are supposed to be judicial layers keeping tabs on requests for data and confirming what’s considered just cause, including by the U.S. Department of Justice, municipalities and states have no way of knowing whether data is even being requested or scrutinized by federal entities.

Flock’s “Right To Use And Distribute”

Along with reported cases of Flock data having been used inappropriately and unlawfully by certain law officers around the country, such as for stalking women, there have been instances of direct misuse of the data. Recently Flock has spoken out publicly about measures to ensure that police within municipalities are abiding by the law, but that’s a separate issue with regard to the broader dissemination of data.

Other cases have claimed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reportedly obtained Flock data indirectly through individuals or groups in states that were not beholden to local restrictions set in place in the states where the data originated.

The Wilton Police Department has posted a document on the town’s website describing the department’s Standard Operating Procedures regarding ALPR usage.

In addition, Wilton maintains a webpage, “Transparency, Accountability, and Public Safety: Wilton’s Flock Safety Transparency Portal,” that describes how the department uses the Flock system and links to its “Flock Transparency Portal,” to reinforce the department’s adherence to “policy-driven controls.”

Updated daily, the portal includes “featured success stories” describing how the technology was used in specific police cases, as well as data from the prior 30 days on the number of vehicle plates read, searches, “hotlist hits” and organizations that were granted access to the department’s data.

Listed under “Policy & Trust,” the portal also describes “Prohibited Uses”: “Immigration enforcement, Reproductive care, harassment or intimidation, usage based solely on a protected class (i.e. race, sex, religion), [and] Personal use.”

According to Flock, “Data is used for law enforcement purposes only. Data is owned by Wilton CT PD and is never sold to 3rd parties.”

However, in sanctioning the distribution of data, as well as its general collection through Flock, customers such as Wilton grant Flock “non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free right to use and distribute” both anonymized data and customer generated data “for the purpose of providing Flock Services.”

For anonymized data, the agreement reads, “Flock shall have the right to collect, analyze, and anonymize Customer Data and Customer Generated Data to the extent such anonymization renders the data non-identifiable to create Anonymized Data to use and perform the Services and related systems and technologies, including the training of machine learning algorithms.”

Response from Town Officials

GOOD Morning Wilton offered all Board of Selectmen members a chance to share thoughts and opinions on the matter, including the question of whether it would be discussed publicly at an upcoming meeting, but all declined.

Editor’s note: Flock cameras were most recently discussed in front of the current BOS members during a Feb. 2, 2026 meeting, when Police Chief Tom Conlan spoke to the board following public comment from two residents concerned about ALPR usage. The selectmen did not have any extended discussion on the topic.

GMW also contacted members of the Wilton Police Commission. Chair Chris Giovino responded on behalf of the other two members with a statement of support for Wilton’s use of the Flock system as a “valuable public safety tool.” He said that the commissioners share the public’s concern regarding whether the system is used properly and responsibly, but those concerns have been allayed by the steps taken by the department to make sure there is “strict adherence to policies and procedures,” as well as by the measures to ensure transparency, adherence to policies and procedures, and supervision through audits, usage tracking and administrator review.

“The recent reporting and concerns from the public [have] not changed my support for the program, however it reinforces the importance of transparency, oversight and strong safeguards,” he wrote.

First Selectman Toni Boucher gave no comment on Lamont’s request nor the larger issue, but shared several related documents and a link to a Nov. 4, 2024 meeting of the BOS, which included three members who are no longer serving.

During that meeting, the selectmen voted unanimously to approve a contract for the fixed license plate reader technology, pending review by Town Counsel. Former Selectman Bas Nabulsi raised questions at the time about the Town’s potential exposure to lawsuits for warrantless surveillance or other Fourth Amendment issues and emphasized the need for input from the Town’s attorneys before proceeding.

“Note that the goal was to help reduce crime in our area including burglaries, find missing children, older adults and residents and to improve the safety of our residents,” Boucher said.

Boucher also referenced a Jan. 12, 2026 posting on the Wilton Police Department’s website about Flock’s transparency portal, with a link and some details about department use of the technology.

“Our use of Flock ALPRs is governed by strict departmental policy,” the posting states. “The system does not use facial recognition, does not identify individuals, and is not used for generalized surveillance or monitoring of lawful activity. Access is restricted, logged, and audited, and every use must be tied to a legitimate law enforcement purpose. Responsible use of technology is essential to maintaining public trust, and misuse of any department system is not tolerated.”

Governor’s Request

Lamont has specifically asked the CPOST Council to identify the various camera and ALPR technologies in use throughout the state and note the relevant statutory framework for each of those technologies.

He asked that it outline Connecticut’s legal requirements for permissible use of the data collected, including “how it may or may not be shared outside of local and state authorities.”

Lamont has also asked the council to recommend policies for local and state agencies.

Wilton’s department, meanwhile, stands by the Flock system and what it offers in terms of policing.

“The technology has helped locate missing persons, identify and arrest sexual offenders targeting minors, disrupt organized retail theft, and apprehend domestic violence offenders,” Cipolla said.

“We will continue to be open and transparent in how we use technology to keep the Wilton community safe,” he said.

Editor’s note: the story was updated to clarify events at the Nov. 4, 2024 BOS meeting, to including details of the selectmen’s unanimous approval of the town’s contract with Flock Safety that evening.