Stockton's City Council approved a $3.15 million amendment for Flock surveillance technology, including drones, in March 2026. Public records reviewed by a local civic group listed it as “Animal Shelter Study,” prompting transparency concerns.
David Sengthay, president of Stockton Democrats Together, said his organization found the label while reviewing public records and characterized notice around successive amendments as inadequate. Residents have asked the City Council to suspend or end the Flock contract, provide a full public accounting of expenditures and hold a public hearing before further spending. The city has not publicly said who assigned the label or whether other amendments had similarly mismatched descriptions. The records reviewed show no adjudicated finding of fraud or criminal misappropriation.
The Flock agreement has been amended four times since December 2021, adding cameras, 911 integration and drones. Its automated license-plate readers record plates, vehicle characteristics and locations; when agencies share network access, authorized agencies may search data across jurisdictions, subject to contract permissions and policies. Students and community members have raised concerns about cameras allegedly near San Joaquin Delta College; reviewed maps, photos and college records did not confirm placement, and the article identified no evidence that immigration authorities accessed the system or used it to locate people near campus.
