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License-plate readers · Manitowoc

Manitowoc

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

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Manitowoc Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
13
13 local cameras per the department's Flock portal as cited by the Herald Times Reporter (late Aug./early Sept. 2026).
Contract
Flock Safety: period not stated · to 2027 · Contract runs to early 2027; city notified Flock it will not renew; Flock owns the cameras. (NBC 26 (WGBA), Sept. 5, 2026)
  1. Sept. 2026 The Herald Times Reporter reported 13 local cameras on the department's Flock portal, logging 179,198 unique plates over 30 days. (Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter, republished by Wausau Pilot & Review, Sept. 3, 2026)
  2. Sept. 2026 Mayor Justin Nickels and Chief John Musial said all city-owned Flock cameras would be switched off, and the city told Flock it would not renew; the mayor later said all the cameras were fully deactivated and that his 2027 budget funds neither Flock nor any similar citywide camera system. (NBC 26 (WGBA), Sept. 5, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Deactivation was set for Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026 (NBC 26, published that morning). Officials said there were no local issues with the system. Privately owned Flock cameras in the city are unaffected.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Two Rivers Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
Herald Times Reporter: six cameras initially at three highway entrances/exits, with more added near Neshotah Beach; no current total.
Contract
Flock Safety: $18,000 period not stated · from 2025 · approved by Two Rivers City Council, 2024-12-16 (capital borrowing for installation) · The police department initially spent about $18,000 on the system (Herald Times Reporter); installation cost about $5,300 against up to $10,000 budgeted in the capital borrowing (city timeline). (Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter, republished by Wausau Pilot & Review, Sept. 3, 2026; City of Two Rivers, Sept. 2026)
  1. Dec. 16, 2024 City Council unanimously approved a capital borrowing package including funding for the initial Flock installation. (City of Two Rivers, Sept. 2026)
  2. 2025 The Flock system became operational. (City of Two Rivers, Sept. 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Operational since 2025 (city timeline, assembled Sept. 2026); the city manager described ongoing use in early Sept. 2026 (HTR). Not checked against Manitowoc's Sept. 2026 decision.

From agency records.

Statewide

  1. Aug. 2023 FOX6 reported that the Wisconsin Department of Justice said it does not keep track of Flock cameras, and that Wisconsin had no law setting retention periods for plate-reader data. (FOX6 News Milwaukee, Aug. 2, 2023)
  2. 2025 Lobbying registrations on AB 300 with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission: the ACLU of Wisconsin registered against (6/8/2025); the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association (6/10/2025), the League of Wisconsin Municipalities (6/23/2025) and Flock Group Inc. (7/25/2025) registered in favor; the Wisconsin Grocers Association registered 'other' (6/19/2025). (Wisconsin Ethics Commission (lobbying.wi.gov), date not shown)
  3. 2025 The Wisconsin Examiner, citing OpenSecrets, reported that Flock spent $102,000 on lobbying in Wisconsin in 2025, and that AB 300 and SB 299 did not pass. (Wisconsin Examiner (republished by Urban Milwaukee), Aug. 28, 2026)
  4. May 30, 2025 Senate Bill 299, by Sens. James and Wanggaard, was introduced to create a state grant program (new s. 165.985) for buying automated registration plate reader systems; it was referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, and the Legislature's page shows no later action. (Wisconsin State Legislature, date not shown)
  5. June 6, 2025 Assembly Bill 300, the companion grant-program bill by Rep. Novak and 13 other representatives, was introduced and referred to the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety; the Legislature's page shows no later action. (Wisconsin State Legislature, date not shown)
  6. Aug. 6, 2025 A Wisconsin Examiner analysis of Flock network audit data found that at least 221 Wisconsin law enforcement agencies used Flock from Jan. 1 to May 31, 2025. (Wisconsin Examiner, Aug. 6, 2025)
  7. Sept. 2026 Attorney General Josh Kaul, speaking at a Rotary Club event, called on the Legislature to pass a state law governing how plate readers may be used, including a general bar on selling ALPR data to private companies. (CBS 58 says Tuesday; its story is dated Sept. 8, 2026.) (CBS 58 (WDJT), Sept. 8, 2026)
  8. Sept. 2026 State Rep. Calvin Callahan, chair of the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection, said government use of Flock cameras should be prohibited unless it comes with warrants, judicial oversight and strict retention limits, and said he would hold a committee hearing on surveillance cameras when the Legislature returns in January. No bill number was cited. (WSAW says the statement came on a Tuesday; the story is dated Sept. 15, 2026.) (WSAW NewsChannel 7, Sept. 15, 2026)
  9. Sept. 2026 Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany said that if elected he would pause state funding for Flock and create a privacy task force; Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a Democratic candidate for governor, directed county departments to limit Flock use. (Wisconsin Public Radio, Sept. 2, 2026)