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Hello [Name of Official],

My name is [Name], and I am a resident of [City].

I am writing to urge you to reject, prohibit, or place a moratorium on the installation or expansion of automated license plate reader systems, including Flock Safety, in our community.

These systems are often presented as simple crime-fighting tools, but they create a form of mass surveillance that records the movements of ordinary people who are not suspected of any crime. That raises serious concerns about privacy, civil liberties, and the long-term misuse of sensitive location data.

Even when these systems are marketed as narrowly targeted, the reality is that they can enable broad tracking, data retention, inter-agency sharing, and mission creep over time. A system installed for one purpose today can easily be expanded tomorrow. Once the infrastructure is in place, the temptation to widen its use becomes very difficult to control.

I am also concerned about:

• collection of data on innocent residents and visitors
• mistakes, false matches, and wrongful stops
• data sharing with outside agencies
• cybersecurity and breach risks
• lack of transparency and public oversight
• unclear retention, audit, and access rules
• the creation of a permanent record of people’s movements

Public safety should not come at the cost of building a system that tracks everyone first and asks questions later. Our city should invest in safety strategies that are effective without creating a surveillance network over daily life.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
[Name]
[Neighborhood or City, if desired]