Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said the university does not share data from its Flock Safety cameras on campus, and he warned of misinformation being spread about these license plate readers.
“We will work to get more information out and make sure that it’s clear, but these cameras are there for our collective safety,” Armstrong said during an aside at an informational town hall on St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Wednesday, March 4.
ASI President Marc Cabeliza redirected his conversation to talk about Flock cameras with Armstrong at the town hall, citing a recent Mustang News article.
READ MORE: Eyes that never blink: Cal Poly’s Flock license plate readers spark student backlash
Later that same day, Cal Poly Police Department broke down the information over its agreement with controversial surveillance company Flock Safety at a student government board of directors meeting.
George Hughes, assistant vice president of public safety, said the university chose Flock Safety for its “investigatory capabilities” and use of solar power. Hughes said the university police use the images to only “investigate and solve crimes.”
Hughes presented to the group of student representatives following recent news over the university’s contract with Flock Safety, and the company’s previous involvement with data shared from its cameras illegally with outside law enforcement like Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“When we first started considering this, I didn’t know it was such a controversial topic,” Hughes said regarding the contract with Flock Safety.
As of March 2025, Cal Poly has partnered with Flock Safety to provide image and video surveillance to its campus, according to its contract obtained by Mustang News. Limited consultation and campus safety remained part of students’ concerns over the agreement with the surveillance technology.
“As opposed to just telling us why Flock cameras are okay and it’s all going to be fine, students would appreciate a seat at the table when these decisions are made,” said Kayla Cavazos, member of ASI Board of Directors.
Cal Poly Police present “myths” around Flock Safety
Students like Tobias Halpern — who started a petition that has reached 1,309 signatures as of midday Monday to end Flock Safety at Cal Poly — urged for public forum and transparency over the cameras guardrails, during public comment for the ASI Board of Directors meeting.
Following these comments, the board introduced Hughes to present information on Flock Safety on behalf of the university police department.
Hughes outlined details over Cal Poly’s Flock cameras, including that they are placed at entry points around campus. The university has 10 automatic license plate reader cameras that take still images and seven cameras with live footage, according to Hughes.
“Safety on campus is a large initiative, and cameras and access control is just one part,” Hughes said.
Video surveillance has been on Cal Poly’s campus for decades before its recent agreement with Flock Safety, according to Hughes, and that these cameras do not capture audio, nor do they contain facial recognition software.
The still images operate as automatic license plate readers, or ALPRs, which are logged for 30-days due to California State University policy, Hughes said. The 30-day retention period for ALPR data can be exceeded if it is used for a “current criminal investigation,” according to Hughes.
Live cameras are also stored for 30 days and can capture a wider field of view. Hughes said the ALPR and live footage systems are not tied, meaning information is not shared between the two databases.
While the Flock cameras are not capable of both running license plates and getting registration information, Cal Poly has had separate access to those systems of identification for years, according to Hughes. He asserted that the department only uses Flock to start investigations, later using other systems in place to continue looking for information like registration details.
“The registrar’s office has more of your personal information than this Flock system has,” Hughes said.
One of the myths Hughes dispelled was that Cal Poly shares its data with other agencies. He said the university has data sharing turned off, though can switch it on if requested by other law enforcement through a lawful court order or “good faith belief,” Hughes said.
Hughes also said that ICE is not a customer of Flock Safety and affirmed that Flock Safety has never been hacked for data. He added, however, that “no system in the world is 100% foolproof,” and that an employee at the university would be held accountable up to termination for misusing the data.
Student representatives echo concerns over surveillance cameras
Naomi Jung, a member of the ASI Board of Directors, asked Hughes to clarify a conversation he had mentioned with Flock about court ordered mandates.
According to Hughes, he asked Flock Safety directly what the process would look like given a situation where the university was served with a court order for obtaining data. The company, in response, said Cal Poly would be consulted first and given permission to consult its legal counsel if necessary in the event data was being requested.
ASI Chief of Staff Tanner Schinderle addressed the concern some students have over data being shared from the Flock Safety cameras, whether or not they obtain them legally.
Hughes responded by reaffirming that if any court order were to be given by any outside agency, including ICE, the Sheriff’s Office or San Luis Obispo Police, the university would have to release the requested information after legal counsel.
Bella Twist, member of ASI Board of Directors, asked Hughes whether there could be a future public meeting to address students’ questions and concerns to the university police about Flock Safety. Hughes responded saying the department has been in talks of hosting a similar event, though he had not anticipated there to be tension over the surveillance technology from the beginning.
Sam Fickett contributed to this story.