Durango Group Pushes Ordinance to Limit Police License Plate Reader Use

Every vehicle entering Durango through a major road has been photographed, timestamped, and stored for 30 days since 2023 — including vehicles driven by Dolores County residents making the daily trip for groceries, medical appointments, or work. A local advocacy group called DeFlock Durango wants that to change.

Organizer Ben Peters presented a proposed ordinance April 3 at the Durango Community Recreation Center that would impose the tightest restrictions yet on the Durango Police Department's 21 Flock Safety cameras, which are positioned at all major entryways into the city. If adopted, the nine-page ordinance would slash data retention from 30 days to 72 hours, require law enforcement to obtain a judicial warrant before accessing captured license plate data, and establish a community oversight board to enforce compliance. Exceptions to the warrant requirement would exist for exigent circumstances.

Durango City Councilor Shirley Gonzales, who endorsed the ordinance and attended the news conference, framed the push as a matter of keeping police tools within defined limits. "We do want the police to be able to use this service as it's intended," Gonzales said. "What we don't want is for it to be unlimited, unscripted, unsupervised and tracking all of us at all times."

Anaya Robinson, public policy director of the ACLU of Colorado, joined virtually and backed the proposal. "This is crucial regulation needed to ensure that law enforcement and government agencies cannot abuse this developing technology without consequences or oversight," Robinson said.

The effort has roots in a records request Peters filed last fall that revealed DPD had shared access to its Flock camera network with 60 law enforcement agencies holding active 287(g) agreements, which are formal partnerships with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Colorado law prohibits state and local agencies from cooperating with immigration enforcement, and license plate numbers are explicitly classified as personally identifiable data prohibited from being shared for that purpose. DPD has since cut those 60 agencies from its network. Police Chief Brice Current said the department has no evidence Durango or Flock provided camera data to ICE, and that "immigration enforcement is explicitly listed as prohibited and the system logs and audits all access."

DPD published a response on its Facebook page the same afternoon the news conference began. Peters said the department's public reply signaled it was taking the proposal seriously.

DPD's two-year Flock Safety contracts total $169,050. The system has been operational since 2023, capturing not just license plates but vehicle make, model, color, and distinguishing marks like bumper stickers and dents on every passing car. Gonzales said she plans to bring the ordinance before City Council for future consideration. If Council declines to act, DeFlock Durango could pursue it as a citizen initiative instead.