The Institute for Justice counts 82 Flock contract terminations across 28 states between August 2021 and May 2026 (Washington Times, July 2, 2026). The endings follow patterns, and 3 case studies from our outcomes log show the documented mechanics.
Austin: the audit did the work
Austin’s contract did not survive contact with its own paperwork. KUT, reading the May 2026 City Auditor report, put the share of police ALPR searches carrying no clear reason or case number at between 10% and 20%, more than 30 community groups organized around the finding, and the city manager pulled the renewal vote. The contract expired on its own terms on June 30, 2025 (EFF, June 2025). Lesson: the audit log is the record that moves votes, and it is requestable.
San Marcos: a tie is an ending
On December 2, 2025, San Marcos, Texas deadlocked 3-3 on renewal. No motion passed, so the contract simply lapsed on December 29, and all cameras were removed by February 1, 2026 (Austin Chronicle; city ALPR page). Lesson: because the contract is a subscription, inaction at renewal is itself a decision. Nobody had to win a repeal fight; the renewal just had to fail to pass.
Oshkosh: the record corrected itself in 24 hours
Oshkosh’s Common Council approved a Flock contract, then rescinded it 7-0 the next day, April 23, 2026, after a Flock representative falsely denied the system’s heat-map capability during the meeting (WBAY, April 23, 2026). Lesson: councils act on the record in front of them, and when the record turns out to be wrong, documented, specific corrections travel fast.
The common thread
Each ending ran through a public process: an audit, a vote, a correction. The inputs were documents and attendance, which any resident can supply. Our guides cover the renewal meeting, the records request, and reading the contract. And every outcome, whichever way it goes, lands in the outcomes log with its source.
The 4 exits, with documented examples
A vote to terminate. Harrisonburg voted 4 to 0 on July 28, 2026, ordering staff to stop the fixed system within 7 days and barring any future plate-reader system without a council vote and budget funding. A term that lapses. Salem, Massachusetts let its contract expire June 30, 2026 and replaced it with city-owned readers. An executive decision. Los Angeles’s police department let a 138-camera agreement lapse without a council vote. A rejection before any contract exists. Gig Harbor declined installation in March 2025.
Suspension is its own category
Cameras can go dark while the agreement stands. Olympia voted to suspend on December 2, 2025 and hooded the cameras the next day, with the contract still running to its July 2026 term. Redmond suspended all 24 cameras by council action while it evaluates a contract that runs into 2027. Both can move in either direction, which is why the tracker keeps them separate from cancellations.
What ending does not settle
Hardware and data are separate questions from the contract. Some cities keep cameras while sharing stops, and some replace the vendor: Salem switched to city-owned readers rather than stopping plate reading. Ask what happens to the scans already collected, who keeps searching them during a wind-down, and what removal costs. Every documented ending is listed in the cancellations ledger.
Find your city. The tracker lists every documented Flock contract, the vote that approved it, and the renewal date. Alerts email you before the next decision.