September 1, 2026
The Durango Police Department will not renew its contract with Flock Safety in 2027 and will transition its automated license plate reader program to Axon.
This is a change in technology providers. It is not an end to DPD’s use of automated license plate recognition (ALPR).
ALPR has provided real investigative value to the CITY. Officers and detectives have used the technology to locate stolen vehicles, identify vehicles associated with criminal activity, develop investigative leads, and assist with serious investigations.
“We will not renew our Flock contract in 2027,” Chief of Police Brice Current said. “We will transition to Axon, a long-standing technology partner whose ALPR platform meets our standards while balancing safety and privacy in our public-safety technology.”
“This is not a sudden decision. We have evaluated other platforms for some time, waiting for the technology to mature in safeguards, auditing, data controls, and accountability. This is not about Flock failing. Flock helped demonstrate the value of ALPR and has made significant improvements. This is about continuing to evolve our program as the technology, safeguards, and expectations evolve,” Chief of Police Brice Current said.
DPD evaluated several factors, including investigative effectiveness, system integration, privacy safeguards, data governance, auditing, data sharing, accountability, administrative efficiency, cost, and long-term operational needs.
Durango’s standards for public-safety technology include:
Local, trusted control of DPD data
Strong privacy protections
Meaningful auditing and accountability
Controlled and transparent data sharing
Integration with the department’s broader public-safety technology
Continued community trust
“Axon is a long-standing partner that already handles some of our most sensitive public-safety data, like our body cameras and in-car video,” Current said. “Axon’s ALPR platform can integrate with our broader technology ecosystem while providing the governance, auditing, and data controls we expect.”
The transition to Axon is only one part of DPD’s effort to strengthen its ALPR program.
DPD has also updated its rules governing how ALPR information may be accessed, searched, and retained. These requirements are effective immediately and apply regardless of which company provides the technology.
Every ALPR query must be connected to a specific case, investigation, or other authorized law-enforcement matter. The system may not be used for curiosity, general browsing, personal reasons, or searches without a legitimate investigative connection. EVERY SEARCH HAS A DIGITAL FINGERPRINT, AND MISUSE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
The first seven days are not an unrestricted search period.
Under DPD’s updated requirements:
Every search must have a specific case or investigative connection and an authorized, legitimate law-enforcement purpose.
Routine searches are limited to ALPR information collected during the preceding seven days.
Accessing information more than seven days old requires reasonable suspicion that the information is related to criminal activity or will materially assist a legitimate criminal investigation.
Searches involving information more than seven days old require supervisor approval.
The requesting officer must document the specific and articulable facts supporting reasonable suspicion, the law-enforcement purpose for the query, and the identity of the approving supervisor.
Routine ALPR information will not be retained for more than 21 days unless it has become evidence, is reasonably expected to become evidence, or must be preserved because of a lawful records-production requirement.
The 21-day retention period does not grant officers unrestricted authority to search 21 days' worth of information. Retention and access are separate issues.
Searches during the first seven days still require a specific case or investigative connection and a legitimate law-enforcement purpose. Searches of information more than seven days old require the additional reasonable-suspicion standard, supervisor approval, and documentation.
Public safety and privacy
DPD recognizes that residents have raised questions about ALPR access, data sharing, privacy, retention, and accountability. Those questions were part of the department’s review, along with the technology's operational and investigative value.
“The easy choice is to choose public safety or privacy,” Current said. “The harder, and more responsible, choice is to insist on both.”
“Privacy without public safety leaves people vulnerable. Public safety without privacy safeguards gives government too much power.”
Responsible technology policy requires more than choosing one concern at the expense of the other. DPD’s goal is to preserve the legitimate public-safety value of ALPR while placing clear limits around access, retention, data sharing, and oversight.
“The goal is not maximum surveillance or maximum restriction. It is the constitutional sweet spot where safety and liberty coexist, and where neither fear of crime nor fear of government gets to make the decision for us,” Current said.
Listening to public concerns does not mean abandoning ALPR or allowing any one group to make the decision for the department. It means examining the facts, evaluating the available technology, applying clear standards, and making the decision DPD believes best serves Durango.
“We listened. We evaluated. We waited until the technology and timing were right,” Current said.
“We are preserving the public-safety value of ALPR while continuing to raise the safeguards around how we use it.”
“Technology will continue to evolve. Our safeguards should evolve with it.”
DPD will publish additional information about the transition, data retention, access restrictions, auditing, data sharing, and accountability through a detailed public FAQ.
Additional information:
Durango Police Department's ALPR FAQ's
Durango Police Department's ALPR Policy
Media contact:
Amanda Garrison
Public Information Officer
Durango Police Department
970-764-5870
[email protected]