Take action and protect our community from mass surveillance!

Santa Barbara City Council

Take action and protect our community from mass surveillance!

Flock cameras and ALPR technology create mass surveillance that can track where people travel, threaten privacy, and disproportionately harm immigrant families and over-policed communities.

This isn’t about switching surveillance companies. It’s about rejecting mass surveillance completely! We deserve public safety investments that build trust and address the root causes of harm and not invest in surveillance.

Tell Santa Barbara City Council:

  • Don’t renew Flock.
  • Don’t contract with another ALPR vendor.
  • Protect our data and civil rights.
  • Invest in housing, youth, mental health, and community safety.

Real safety means investing in people and not surveillance.

______________________________________________________________________________________

¡Actúa y protege a nuestra comunidad de la vigilancia masiva!

Las cámaras Flock y la tecnología ALPR generan una vigilancia masiva que permite rastrear los movimientos de la communidad, amenaza la privacidad y perjudica de forma desproporcionada a las familias inmigrantes y a las comunidades sometidas a una vigilancia policial excesiva.

No se trata de cambiar de empresa de vigilancia. ¡Se trata de rechazar por completo la vigilancia masiva! Merecemos inversiones en seguridad pública que fomenten la confianza y aborden las causas fundamentales de los problemas, en lugar de invertir en vigilancia.

Dile al Ayuntamiento de Santa Bárbara:

  • No se renueve el contrato con Flock.
  • No se contrate a otro proveedor de ALPR.
  • Que protejan nuestros datos y nuestros derechos civiles.
  • Que inviertan en vivienda, juventud, salud mental y seguridad comunitaria.

La verdadera seguridad pasa por invertir en la communidad, no en la vigilancia.



To: Santa Barbara City Council
From: [Your Name]

Dear Mayor and City Council,

I urge you to stand with our community by terminating the Flock camera contract and refusing to contract for another ALPR or other technologies that facilitate warrantless mass surveillance. Instead, we should be investing in public safety solutions that build trust, strengthen neighborhoods, and address the root causes of harm, not expand surveillance that can further criminalize our communities.

Our community deserves a transparent, accessible public process. I respectfully ask that you:

- Schedule this agenda item after 5:00 PM so working families, youth, and community members have a meaningful opportunity to participate.

- Support staff's recommendation, alongside the recommendations of community organizations to not renew the Flock camera contract.

- Remove all ALPR mass surveillance from Santa Barbara City jurisdiction as immediately as possible to prevent further community harm.

- Require transparent, independent public and internal audits and annual reporting for any surveillance technologies to ensure accountability, accuracy, compliance, and the protection of civil rights.

- Strengthen and review the current data protection policy to ensure no personal data information is shared to outside third parties without judicial warrant.

-Do not contract with another ALPR vendor. Switching to another vendor does not eliminate the risks of errors, misuse, or data breaches. The backlash against Flock is not about a specific brand of camera, it reflects public opposition to dragnet surveillance.

-Invest in proven community safety strategies including mental health services, tenant protections, youth development, and prevention instead of expanding mass surveillance.

True public safety is built through transparency, accountability, and investments in people. When we invest in stable housing, healthy communities, and opportunities for young people, we create lasting safety that benefits everyone.
I urge you to vote not to renew the Flock camera contract and not to contract with any other ALPR vendor. Instead, prioritize community-centered investments that make Santa Barbara safer, healthier, and more resilient for all.

Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your commitment to serving our community.