Gulf Shores Police Chief Dan Netemeyer calls the city's Flock cameras a "great force multiplier"
Dan NetemeyerPolice chief of Gulf Shores, Alabama
In a city news release posted April 3, 2026, Gulf Shores Police Chief Dan Netemeyer described the city's Flock cameras as another tool for delivering law enforcement services and a "great force multiplier." He said the system alerts police to license plates tied to a school threat and described a missing-person case in which a driver was located within 12 minutes after her plate was entered into the system.
“These cameras are another tool in the way we deliver law enforcement services to the community. ... These cameras are a great force multiplier.”
Official statement
Where this statement fits
Should Flock-style license-plate surveillance networks exist?
Networked automated license-plate readers record passing vehicles and let agencies search or share travel records across locations. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to prohibit these networks, keep them with legal limits, or defend their use for investigations. This tracker records attributable positions on that choice, including proposals that would affect only public funding or data access.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
City of Gulf Shores news item posted April 3, 2026, now in the city's news archive, announcing that the police department uses Flock cameras. It says the council approved the Flock contract in September 2025, gives Chief Netemeyer's count of active cameras and quotes him on how the cameras are used.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The release says the Gulf Shores City Council approved a contract with Flock Safety in September 2025 and that, according to Netemeyer, at least 87 cameras are active at major intersections, beaches, parks and schools.
After the quotation
The release says Netemeyer wants to reassure residents that the system is not government overwatch and has strict limits on who can access data and how long it is kept, and that unauthorized access is prohibited administratively and under state and federal law.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Netemeyer describes the city's Flock cameras as another tool and a "great force multiplier" and cites a school-threat alert and a missing-person recovery, which fits Defended or excused and Keep on the remedy ladder. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, which would fit a request for added limits; the release describes the system's existing access and retention limits and he asks for no change.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseJacob Burnett says Flock-style cameras should be done away with, with warrants required if they stay
“The systems themselves can be modified to prevent nearly all abuse and be made more secure by requiring warrants for access or follow through on any data the systems collect and have all data stored on the hardware itself preventing viewing from remote locations, requiring strict login credentials and a connecting warrant number to access. These are common sense changes that if the systems are to be used I feel could correct a lot of abuse or privacy concerns but I also feel the systems should be done away with overall, especially in the realm of predictive crime analytics.”Read statement
Dean Brewer, an independent candidate for Tennessee governor, says Flock cameras should be banned
“I believe flock cameras should be banned.”Read statement
Buddy Carter says license plate cameras help investigators but need privacy safeguards
“Technologies like license plate recognition cameras can provide valuable investigative tools, but they have also raised important questions about privacy and government oversight. As these systems become more common, it is important to balance public safety with appropriate safeguards that protect individual privacy.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Gulf Shores Police Chief Dan Netemeyer calls the city's Flock cameras a "great force multiplier"
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/5070-in-a-city-news-release-posted-april-3
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Gulf Shores Police Chief Dan Netemeyer calls the city's Flock cameras a "great force multiplier"". First published: 2026-10-07. Last updated: 2026-10-07. https://disputeindex.com/events/5070-in-a-city-news-release-posted-april-3