The City of West Hollywood is weighing in ahead of Chelsea Byers’ Thursday town hall on Flock cameras, providing WEHOonline with a statement and copies of the staff reports that document how the city’s ALPR program has evolved since 2023. The staff reports are linked below and our complete coverage of council debates and votes are at the bottom of this story.
“The City of West Hollywood has utilized Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology since 2016 to assist law enforcement in locating stolen vehicles and supporting criminal investigations involving vehicles,” City spokesperson Joshua Schare said in the statement. “In April 2023, the West Hollywood City Council approved an expansion of the ALPR program through Flock Safety as part of the City’s Safer WeHo public safety technology program. Only the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station has access to ALPR data, which is managed under Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department policies and California law.”
Back in February and March, City Council asked staff to look at and strengthen the City’s ALPR contract language and to ensure data remains protected and not shared with anyone, including and especially the Feds or ICE. The statement continued, “Following that review, the City of West Hollywood negotiated stronger contractual protections with Flock Safety with expanded transparency and oversight measures. The West Hollywood City Council approved an amendment to the existing agreement on July 20, 2026. The City of West Hollywood continues to operate its ALPR program and Safer WeHo public safety technology program under enhanced privacy protections and strengthened contractual safeguards, consistent with the policy direction established by the West Hollywood City Council.”
Byers’ event is billed as “Let’s Talk Flock.”
She says “West Hollywood deserves a real conversation about how we keep our community safe while protecting our privacy and civil liberties.” Problem is, West Hollywood has already had a “real” and thoughtful conversation about how to keep our community safe and how to protect residents’ civil liberties while doing so.
West Hollywood — Done the Work Already
Not everyone with concerns about the cameras is doing so out of politics. Some longtime residents we’ve spoken to, who might not be considered natural allies of Councilmember Byers, have raised fair questions about how this data is used and who has access to it. We can all agree those questions deserve to be respected and addressed, not dismissed. That’s exactly why the city’s review happened.
It’s understandable how this technology can freak people out. As I said earlier, I was in that same camp. The idea that someone is seemingly logging your every move on the roads is, on its face, unsettling. But after studying the issue, reviewing the contract (which I realize most will not do) I realized that fear was misplaced in West Hollywood because West Hollywood did the work. They took those concerns seriously and addressed them, rather than let the fear sit unaddressed. Staff reports confirm it. The council ordered a full review back in February, months before this summer’s wave of national cancellations. The amendments approved July 20 bar Flock from voluntarily handing West Hollywood data to ICE or CBP without a court order. Flock also has to give the city immediate notice if it gets hit with a subpoena. If they fail to do so, it’s a $200,000 penalty for each violation of an unauthorized disclosure.
Councilmember Byers putting together a town hall built around a national panic that we’ve already addressed is nothing more than playing politics. It should also be noted that panic isn’t even about the same thing. Much of the national backlash is about rogue cops using the system for personal gain, like stalking an ex or checking up on a kid’s boyfriend. West Hollywood’s issue was never about that. It was about federal agencies accessing data through holes in the system. That’s the concern West Hollywood had, and that concern has been reviewed and addressed.
It’s election season, and candidates are going to use hot-button issues for campaign purposes. That’s expected and appreciated. But not this one. It’s misplaced and it’s inaccurate and it risks fanning the flames against the folks trying to keep us safe and away from the very people trying to harm us. Residents deserve better than a manufactured crisis. West Hollywood already answered this and Byers knows it.
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