A college tried to cancel its Flock Safety contract and it refused

Elgin Community College installed six Flock Safety license-plate-recognition cameras in April 2025 to boost student security, but by September administrators concluded the system posed unacceptable privacy and security risks: they worried Flock was sharing data with Customs and Border Patrol, that camera feeds weren’t properly secured, and that both law enforcement and company employees were abusing access. College president Peggy Heinrich asked Flock to remove the cameras in October; the company refused, saying it hadn’t violated the contract. School officials tried again in December, even offering to pay out the remaining five months, and received no response.

When the college physically disabled the devices by covering them with black trash bags and zip ties, people in an unmarked vehicle repeatedly removed the coverings while servicing the units, a pattern the college interpreted as the company reactivating cameras against the school’s wishes. That tug-of-war continued until the contract expired in April and the cameras were finally removed. The episode highlights a conflict over who controls on-campus surveillance and the data it generates, illustrating how vendor-held security systems can resist local attempts to limit or withdraw surveillance even after concerns about data sharing and misuse arise.