Duff & Maroney Call for Pause on New Flock Cameras as Privacy Concerns Mount

HARTFORD – Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) and Senator James Maroney (D-Milford) today called for cities and towns to voluntarily pause the installation of all new automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and Flock cameras. The senators pledged to introduce legislation in 2027 to further strengthen privacy protections for residents and tighten how Connecticut regulates the technology.

Additionally, Senators Duff and Maroney will ask the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) to survey every city and town in Connecticut for the number and location of Flock cameras within its borders, giving the state and the public a clear picture of how far the technology has spread.

The call comes as communities across the state raise questions about the reach of these cameras and the surveillance they enable. Connecticut has led the nation in reining in this technology. Under Public Act 26-14, signed by Governor Lamont this year, the state set new rules on ALPRs as part of a broader law on government accountability and federal immigration enforcement. The framework set a default retention period of 21 days, down from 30, restricted real-time and bulk access to the data unless tied to a documented, case-specific request, and barred the use of the technology to enforce immigration laws or to monitor people based on protected characteristics. It also limited data sharing to neighboring states that agree not to use the information for immigration, reproductive care, or gender-affirming health care investigations.

“Communities across Connecticut are taking a hard look at these cameras and deciding they don’t want them, and they’re right to ask the question,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). “Flock cameras track the movements of ordinary people going about their lives, and that kind of surveillance carries real dangers. Town after town is saying they don’t want a permanent record of every car that drives down their streets. We’re calling for a pause because residents deserve real answers about who is watching them and why before a single new camera goes up.”

“This is invasive technology, and people are right to be concerned about it,” said Senator James Maroney (D-Milford). “We’ve led the country in protecting people’s privacy, and we’re not going to stop now. When we see towns rejecting these cameras and questioning whether they need this kind of surveillance at all, that tells us the public is ahead of the law. We intend to keep it that way by strengthening these protections in 2027.”

The data collected from DESPP will directly inform that legislative work, giving Duff and Maroney a full picture of where these cameras are and how they’re being used as they write the next round of protections.