Elicker says New Haven will keep using safety cameras and license plate readers
Justin ElickerMayor of New Haven, Connecticut
Mayor Justin Elicker said New Haven, which does not use Flock for its safety cameras, intends to keep using safety cameras and license plate readers, and urged the governor and legislators not to add restrictions without working with cities.
“While New Haven does not use Flock as the provider for our safety camera system, safety cameras are an invaluable tool for the New Haven Police Department that are helping to keep our residents and community safe. ... We intend to continue to use safety cameras and license plate reader technology in a manner that appropriately balances the need to keep our community safe while also respecting the privacy of our residents.”
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 New Haven news release posted August 7, 2026. It reports Governor Ned Lamont's call for municipalities to pause new camera and plate-reader installations and gives Mayor Justin Elicker's response.
Before the quotation
He responds to the governor's call to pause new installations; New Haven uses another provider.
After the quotation
He urges state officials to collaborate with municipalities before imposing further restrictions.
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. Elicker calls safety cameras "an invaluable tool" and says the city will "continue to use safety cameras and license plate reader technology" while urging the state not to add restrictions. That is a defense of continued use, so we labeled it Defended or excused and placed it at Keep on the remedy ladder. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, which would fit a call for new guardrails; he points to privacy protections the city already has and asks for none beyond them.
- 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
- Elicker says New Haven will keep using safety cameras and license plate readers
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/5125-mayor-justin-elicker-said-new-haven-which-does
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Elicker says New Haven will keep using safety cameras and license plate readers". First published: 2026-10-07. Last updated: 2026-10-07. https://disputeindex.com/events/5125-mayor-justin-elicker-said-new-haven-which-does