Hello Boulder!
I hope that 2026 is treating everyone well so far. We have started the year off continuing to see a drop in crime rates and highly engaged staff out in our community making a daily impact! Nationally, it has been a turbulent year around our country, and I want to discuss a couple of things that are at the forefront of several conversations.
I want to thank everyone who came out to our first Chief’s Town Hall on Jan. 28 in South Boulder. We had plenty of great questions and I was so happy to hear feedback from those that attended. Our next Town Hall will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on April 22 downtown and the location will be shared soon. I’ll talk about public safety issues in the downtown area and answer your questions.
Chief Redfearn speaks with community members during his first town hall in South Boulder
Because I know everyone can’t attend every town hall, I would like to use this opportunity to share some of the questions and discussions that were had:
With everything going on around the country lately surrounding immigration, and specifically with what we’ve seen in recent days in Minneapolis, I have received numerous emails and calls about immigration issues and how we will address them in Boulder.
To answer some of these questions, in partnership with our Communications and Engagement Department, we have developed a web page with Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to help answer some of the more common questions.
Boulder Police Department FAQ regarding federal immigration enforcement questions.
The next issue that came up was about our use of Automated License Plate Readers, or ALPRs. I have had extensive discussions on this issue, and we continue to hear from many folks with questions and concerns. As a reminder, we have a web page dedicated to questions surrounding our use of ALPRs. It is located at the Flock Safety – Boulder CO PD Transparency Portal.
I want to assure you that we continue to monitor the use of this technology, communicate regularly with the vendor to ensure that they are responsive to our needs, requests, and expectations, and also to monitor how issues surrounding the use of the ALPRs play out around the U.S.
I also think it’s important to share two recent updates about this issue. The first is a statement that the NAACP of Oakland, California, recently made regarding the use of Flock ALPRs. The statement can be found at Oakland NAACP Letter of Support 7.3.25.
I wanted to provide two quotes from the statement that show that this branch of the NAACP is aligned with our beliefs around the use of ALPRs.
The Oakland NAACP stated, “In a moment when our communities are demanding both public safety and equitable justice, Flock Safety’s LPR technology offers a powerful tool to reduce bias in policing. These cameras are designed to detect only vehicles associated with a crime, removing the subjective judgment that too often leads to disproportionate stops and harmful interactions with Black and Brown residents. It is a clear example of how technology can support safer, fairer policing.”
Two images from a Boulder Flock camera
They also said, “The partnership with Flock Safety, established in May 2021, has been instrumental in enhancing our capabilities. By utilizing technology like Flock’s License Plate Recognition (LPR) camera system, we have seen remarkable results. Over 100 missing children cases have been resolved thanks to the swift action enabled by this technology.”
Additionally, just last week, a federal judge in Virginia sided with the City of Norfolk on its use of license plate reader technology, specifically Flock, and dismissed a lawsuit from advocacy groups asserting that the use of this technology violates people’s constitutional rights.
In their ruling, the judge stated, “Despite Plaintiff’s counsel’s effective advocacy, the Court must conclude that that the limited number of photographs available on a 21-day rolling basis from 75 camera track clusters in Norfolk does not ‘track’ the whole of a person’s movements nor does it provide an ‘intimate’ window into where citizens drive, park, visit, linger, sleep, or patronize.”
It is encouraging to see such rulings that align with our use of this technology.
I want to assure you that we will never use any technology that causes harm to our community. I have seen this technology used time and time again to make our community safer. Like all of our technology, we always monitor the tools we use, including ALPRs to ensure that they are aligned with our core values and beliefs here in the City of Boulder, and if they no longer do, we are committed to pivoting.
Lastly, I wanted to share another new web page that provides FAQs on the recent changes in our police oversight process. As you may know, the City Manager has implemented a 5-year review of the oversight process in Boulder, in accordance with what the ordinance allows. That process is underway now, and we are all hopeful that it results in a more efficient process for all.
In the meantime, the FAQ page about the oversight panel changes can be found here.
In closing, let me know what questions and topics you’d like me to address in the future, whether in this newsletter, a town hall, our digital options or via email.
My email is redfearns@bouldercolorado.gov
Please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Steve Redfearn, police chief
