Township government

License-plate cameras (Flock)

Franklin police run 28 Flock Safety license-plate and other cameras under a $339,000 grant-funded contract the Council approved in October 2025. From August 11 to October 13, 2026 residents asked the Council at every regular meeting to cancel the contract, put it to a public vote or add outside oversight; no vote on the contract has been scheduled.

Checked against the primary record on . Every figure on this page is sourced at the foot of the article.

Cameras operating; no Council vote on the contract scheduled Last moved

What happens next

No Flock item is on any Council agenda through October 27, 2026. Residents can speak in Public Discussion at the Township Council's next meetings, November 10, November 24 and December 8, 2026, 7:00 p.m., Municipal Complex, 475 DeMott Lane. The police transparency portal publishes 30-day usage figures.

Franklin’s Police Department uses a Flock Safety automated license-plate recognition (ALPR) system. Cameras photograph passing vehicles and read their plates, and the plates are checked against “hotlists” such as stolen cars and suspended registrations. The department’s public transparency portal, updated October 29, 2026, lists 28 “LPR and other cameras”, a retention period of 1,095 days (“3 years per Attorney General Directive 2022-12”), 622,642 unique vehicles detected and 70 searches in the last 30 days, and 30,592 hotlist alerts in 30 days. Camera locations are not published.

The Council awarded the contract to Flock Group Inc. on October 14, 2025 (Res. 25-436), on the consent agenda, 7–0, for up to $339,000. The signed resolution says “over a four (4) year period, with Year 1 costs totaling … $87,225.” The money is a state gunshot-detection technology grant of $339,000 that the Council accepted in 2023.

On August 11, 2026 the Public Safety Director and a Flock representative presented the system to the Council. 22 of the 25 people who spoke in Public Discussion that night addressed the cameras, and the minutes record none of them speaking in support. Flock speakers returned on September 8 (8), September 22 (7) and October 13 (7). They asked the Council to cancel the contract, shut the system down, hold a referendum or public vote, order an independent audit, or shorten data retention. Officials answered that the township owns the data, that there is no facial recognition, that searches need a case number and are audited, and that the state, not the township, sets the three-year retention. On September 8 the Mayor said he favored a shorter retention period and stricter quarterly reports and had written to the Attorney General. On October 13 Mr. Singh “supported a full public review and a new vote.”

No resolution to cancel, suspend or re-vote the contract has appeared on an agenda through October 27, 2026. Local news headlines on October 28 said the Mayor stated at the October 27 meeting that Franklin would keep its existing cameras and not expand the program; the minutes of that meeting are not yet posted.

Residents can speak at Council meetings, read the transparency portal, and ask the Township Clerk for the Flock agreement and the department’s ALPR policy. Under the Attorney General’s directive, complaints about an agency’s ALPR use go to the County Prosecutor.

The Flock cameras, explained

Timeline

Each dated event on this issue, oldest first, linked to the full sourced entry.

  1. Milestone Attorney General sets statewide rules for police license-plate readersAttorney General Directive 2022-12 set the rules New Jersey police departments follow for license-plate readers: three-year retention, limits on searching stored data, a yearly audit, and complaints to the County Prosecutor. It took effect January 23, 2023.
  2. Resolved Council accepts the $339,000 state grant that later paid for FlockBy Res. 23-285 the Council accepted a $339,000 state "Gunshot Detection Technology Initiative" grant for December 1, 2022 through November 30, 2024, and inserted it in the 2023 budget by Res. 23-286. Both passed 9–0.
  3. Resolved Council authorizes bids for Flock plate readers as proprietary goodsRes. 25-056 authorized bids for "Flock License Plate Readers and Video Products" as proprietary goods, with integration of Evidence.com, "as no equivalent system exists." Consent agenda, 8–0 (Potosnak absent). Flock was the only bidder when bids opened March 18, 2025.
  4. Active Flock contract awarded, up to $339,000 (Res. 25-436)On the consent agenda, 7–0, the Council awarded the "Gunshot Detection, License Plate Reader, and Video Surveillance System" contract to Flock Group Inc., not to exceed $339,000. The signed resolution adds "over a four (4) year period, with Year 1 costs totaling ... $87,225."
  5. Active Flock system presented to the Council; 22 of 25 speakers address the camerasPublic Safety Director Lloyd Fredericks and Flock representative Carl Block presented the plate-reader system. In Public Discussion, 22 of 25 speakers addressed it, none recorded in support; requests included cancelling the contract, a referendum and independent oversight.
  6. Active Eight more Flock speakers; officials say the contract "has two years remaining"Eight of 15 speakers addressed Flock, asking for a shutdown, a referendum or contract details. In reply, officials said the contract "has two years remaining," and Mayor Kramer said he favored shorter data retention and stricter quarterly reports and had written to the Attorney General.
  7. Active Seven Flock speakers; the Mayor says the Council is reviewing the informationSeven speakers asked for cancellation, a referendum, an audit or a public vote to end the contract. The Mayor said the Council "takes the issue seriously" and is "considering all facts before making further decisions." Six members were present.
  8. Active Mr. Singh calls for a full public review and a new vote on the camerasAfter seven more Flock speakers, the minutes record that "Mr. Singh supported a full public review and a new vote on the camera system." The Mayor said the Council is reviewing all feedback; Ms. Francois said it is "taking all feedback into consideration without rushing to judgment."

Explainers

  • Franklin's Flock License-Plate Cameras, Explained

    What the Flock system is and what the township's portal says it records; how the $339,000 contract was approved and paid for; what officials said at the August 11, 2026 presentation; what residents asked for at four Council meetings; the state rules on the data; where the records disagree; and what is still not known.

Documents

The township's own records on this issue. Each links to the official copy.

Meetings

  • Township Council — October 13, 2026

    The Council adopted Ord. 4517-26 (cluster subdivisions) and Ord. 4520-26, the PILOT for the CWP-ASR Somerset I and II affordable-housing project at 260 Davidson Avenue, each 9-0. In Public Discussion residents spoke on the Flock license-plate cameras, the Sentinel data center in South Brunswick and the NESE project, the Davidson Avenue housing site, PILOTs, stormwater and truck traffic. Mr. Singh said he supported a full public review and a new vote on the cameras.

  • Township Council — September 22, 2026

    With six members present, the Council adopted the $1,380,000 Catalpa Park open-space ordinance 6-0 and introduced Ord. 4520-26, a PILOT financial agreement for the CWP-ASR Somerset project at 260 Davidson Avenue, 5-0. Five residents raised leaks and water pressure after the King Road and Cedar Brook Drive water main work, and seven spoke on the Flock cameras.

  • Township Council — September 8, 2026

    The Council approved a $500,000 settlement with Transco over the federal condemnation of an access easement for Compressor Station 206, on land whose development rights the Township holds, plus $100,000 for a community benefit program, 9-0. It awarded the Catalpa Park construction contract and introduced a $1,380,000 open-space ordinance for the park. Eight of 15 speakers addressed the Flock license-plate cameras.

  • Township Council — August 11, 2026

    The Public Safety Director and a Flock Safety representative presented the township's license-plate camera system, and most of the residents who spoke in Public Discussion asked about data retention, audits, cost and civil liberties, several calling for the contract to be cancelled or put to a referendum. The Council adopted the cannabis and short-term rental ordinances, introduced the cluster-subdivision ordinance 4517-26, awarded $1.8 million in resurfacing and a $1,064,962 East Millstone water main, and met in closed session on warehouse and Transco litigation.

  • Township Council — November 10, 2025

    With all nine members present, the Council's 9-0 consent agenda included an Axon "ALPR License and Integration" state contract of up to $37,800, the CY2024 audit and its corrective action plan, and two stormwater maintenance agreements. It introduced a Brookline Avenue parking ordinance and a pump-station easement. A resident raised the NESE project's air permit.

Sources for this overview

  1. Township Council minutes, October 14, 2025 (Res. 25-436 and the consent vote)
  2. Township Council packet, October 14, 2025 (signed Res. 25-436, pp. 206–207)
  3. Township Council minutes, August 11, 2026 (ALPR presentation and Public Discussion)
  4. Township Council minutes, September 8, 2026
  5. Township Council packet, October 13, 2026 (full September 22, 2026 minutes, pp. 21–27)
  6. Township Council minutes, October 13, 2026
  7. Township Council agenda, October 27, 2026 (no Flock item)
  8. Franklin Township Police Department, Flock transparency portal
  9. NJ Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive No. 2022-12 (ALPR)
  10. Franklin Reporter, October 28, 2026 (headline): "Mayor: Franklin To Keep Flock Cameras, But Planned Expansion Is Shelved"
  11. TAPinto Franklin, October 2026: story on the Council keeping its existing Flock cameras without expanding the program
All issues The full timeline