· Woonsocket, RI · Policy
Woonsocket, Rhode Island council gives final 7-0 approval to rules for its Flock cameras
The Woonsocket City Council on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, gave final passage, 7-0, to Ordinance 26047 regulating the city's use of automated license plate readers, which are supplied by Flock Safety, Uprise RI reported from the meeting recording. The ordinance largely writes the police department's existing plate-reader policy into city law. Before first passage on Oct. 5, the council amended it so that data "shall" be kept no longer than 30 days and then purged, and so that violators "shall" face administrative sanctions up to termination and "may" face criminal prosecution and civil liability. In September the council defeated a resolution to ban the readers and cancel the Flock contract. Members of a Rhode Island privacy group told the council the ordinance does little to protect privacy, noting that Flock now recommends 7-day retention, and asked that it be tabled; no council member commented before the final vote. Uprise RI notes that its meeting stories are summarized from transcripts with AI assistance.
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