DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — One day after the Denver City Council voted against a contract extension with Flock Group Inc., Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly defended the automated license plate recognition cameras.
"Potential burglaries, sex offenders being by schools, those are happening on a daily basis," said Weekly, describing the type of crimes the cameras catch.
In a post on X, Sheriff Weekly said his deputies caught a robbery suspect from another jurisdiction Tuesday morning using the Flock cameras. He went on to criticize the City of Denver’s policies, claiming they "empower criminals and make our entire metro area less safe."
"The bad guys don’t understand jurisdictional boundaries, but I guarantee you the bad guys know where there’s license plate readers and where there’s not," said Weekly in an interview with Denver7 Tuesday afternoon.
The Denver City Council on Monday unanimously rejected a contract extension with Flock Group Inc. for more than $600,000 to continue operating the more than 100 automated license plate recognition cameras throughout the city.
The cameras were first installed in May 2024 to help the Denver Police Department fight crime. Currently, there are 111 cameras throughout 70 intersections in Denver.
Denver City Council's decision was influenced by concerns over privacy and the potential misuse of surveillance technology. Sheriff Weekly addressed those concerns on Tuesday.
"I understand why people are concerned about privacy and things like that, but as I explained, it doesn’t give you all of that information," he said, referring to the Flock data system.
- Watch our coverage of the Denver City Council's vote in the video player below
Weekly said the 35 Flock cameras in Douglas County serve as a critical tool for law enforcement, alerting deputies to stolen license plates or vehicles associated with outstanding warrants.
According to the sheriff, after receiving an alert from the cameras, deputies use two additional databases — the Colorado Crime Information Center (CCIC) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) — to analyze and verify the information before taking any action.
"Misuse of that system is potentially a criminal charge, and certainly a policy violation that can result in termination," said Weekly.
Since their installation in March 2022, Douglas County's Flock cameras have led to at least 60 arrests, according to Weekly. Denver's Flock cameras, implemented in May 2024, have led to 275 arrests, according to data from the Denver Police Department.
The 35 cameras cost Douglas County $135,000 per year. Weekly said the county is looking to add 16 more Flock cameras. That timeline will depend on how quickly the county can get approval to add them to certain intersections.
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Despite Denver's decision not to renew the Flock system, city officials on Monday expressed their intention to form a task force aimed at addressing the public's concerns. Sheriff Weekly hopes the city follows through on that.
“They can create policies on who they share this information with and who they don’t share this information with," he said. "But to just shut this information off when you have the ability to keep your residents safe, I think, is a travesty.”
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