The Queen Creek Town Council on June 3 will vote on whether to approve $2.2 million in police surveillance technology contracts through a single consent agenda vote, adding automated license plate readers, body cameras and Tasers, and a high-speed drone system at a time when other Arizona cities are canceling similar programs over privacy concerns.
The three largest police technology items on the consent agenda totaled $2.245 million. The council approved a $1.6 million Axon subscription for body cameras, Tasers, and cloud-based evidence management software. A $460,000 contract with Brinc adds a drone system to the police department's fleet. And a $185,000 Flock Safety subscription funds automated license plate readers — known as ALPRs — mounted along roads to capture images of every passing car.
Consent agenda items are bundled together and approved in a single vote without separate debate unless a council member pulls an item for individual consideration. This limits public participation, making this a controversial choice.
Additional police technology spending on the same consent agenda included $1.2 million for Motorola portable and mobile radios, $450,000 for annual maintenance of Versaterm's records management system — an RMS, the software police use to store reports, citations, and case files — and $170,000 for a Power Marketplace vehicle lease agreement. The council also approved $1.6 million for police dispatch services from the City of Mesa and $560,000 for fire dispatch from Mesa.
ALPRs face growing backlash in Arizona
Flock Safety's automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, use cameras mounted along roadways to capture images of every passing vehicle. Artificial intelligence reads the license plates and records the data, including vehicle make, model, color, bumper stickers, and damage. Police receive real-time alerts when a stolen or wanted vehicle passes a camera and can search archives of past readings.
Flock Safety contracts with more than 60 Arizona law enforcement agencies, according to AZFamily. But three Arizona cities have canceled their Flock contracts after residents raised privacy concerns at public meetings. Flagstaff ended its contract in December 2025, Sedona shut off its cameras in August 2025, and South Tucson voted to cancel in February 2026, as ABC15 reported.
The American Civil Liberties Union argues that ALPRs amount to mass surveillance, treating entire communities as suspects without due process. Critics point to a Milwaukee police officer who faces a criminal charge for conducting 179 personal Flock license plate searches, according to the same ABC15 report.
Tempe, which also uses Flock, voted in March to test Axon's ALPR system through a 60-day pilot program as an alternative, AZCentral reported. The pilot includes three Axon Outpost cameras.
Flock Safety has also faced scrutiny over data sharing. Privacy advocates have raised concerns about the potential for federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement to access the data, though Flock denies having a contract with ICE and says it does not share data with immigration officials, AZFamily reported.
State Sen. Kevin Payne, a Republican from District 27, sponsored Senate Bill 1111 to create statewide rules for ALPR use. The bill would require police to provide a case number for every ALPR search, restrict data to criminal investigations and missing-person cases, and make it a felony to access or share data without authorization, according to the same AZFamily report.
Drone program expands with Brinc system
The $460,000 Brinc contract adds a new drone to Queen Creek's fleet. Brinc's Guardian drone, unveiled in March 2026, connects through SpaceX's Starlink satellite network, giving it connectivity beyond radio range. ArsTechnica reported that the drone can carry medical supplies like Narcan, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses, and pursue vehicles at 60 miles per hour. More than 900 cities use Brinc drones nationally.
Critics have raised concerns that drones like the Guardian enable persistent aerial surveillance over residential areas. The Brinc 911 drone system has drawn questions about the scope of aerial monitoring as cities expand their drone-as-first-responder programs — known as DFR, where drones are dispatched to emergency calls ahead of officers to provide a real-time aerial view.
The full consent agenda included dozens of contracts unrelated to law enforcement, including $8 million for well construction and maintenance, $3.5 million for water distribution pipes and fittings, and $3.3 million for water meters.