The Mayor has said the Axon ALPR camera question will come to City Council. We're not waiting for the last moment. On Wednesday, June 3 — when both the Bend City Council and the Deschutes County Commission meet — we're showing up to make our voices heard before the item is set, in person, online, or by phone.
After Bend removed its Flock surveillance cameras (“de-Flocking”), City staff began circling a new vendor to re-install stationary automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras — at first without a Council vote. After public pressure, the City agreed that any new add-on to the Axon contract will come before Council with a chance for public comment. A $19,000 state grant would cover part of the cost, framed around organized retail theft — but it is not clear how much more the City would pay, or how large a stationary camera network could eventually become. Rather than wait for it to land on an agenda, June 3 is our day of action to get ahead of it.
Stationary ALPR cameras photograph every passing license plate — not just suspects — building a searchable record of where ordinary people drive, when, and how often. The concern isn't a single camera. It's the system the data feeds into, and who can reach it once it leaves Bend.
Bend Police already run ALPR through their in-car Axon Fleet cameras, and the department's own policy states that the Axon system automatically queries every plate against state (LEDS) and federal (NCIC) databases. Oregon State Police have been sued for allowing federal immigration authorities to query Oregonians' records roughly a million times a year. Adding fixed cameras at intersections deepens Bend's connection to that same pipeline — and does it at permanent, always-on locations rather than wherever a patrol car happens to be.
Oregon has strong laws meant to protect reproductive and gender-affirming health care, immigrants, and people exercising their political rights. But those protections are hardest to enforce once sensitive location data sits in an out-of-state vendor's cloud, reachable by legal process Bend can't always control. That's the gap worth raising on June 3.
Both bodies meet Wednesday, June 3. The Axon camera item isn't on either agenda yet — so we use the open-comment periods that don't require an agenda item: the City Council Visitor's Section and the County Citizen Input. That's how we get on the record early and signal that the public is watching before any decision takes shape. Always confirm the posted agenda and start times the day before.
Show up at City Hall (Council) or the Deschutes Services Center (County). Arrive early, sign up / register, and note your topic. A full room is its own message.
For City Council, register before 7 p.m. June 3 to receive the webinar link. You can speak live when called. For the County, use the meeting link posted on the agenda.
City Council lets registered speakers join by phone. The County accepts a brief voicemail at (541) 385-1734, or written email comment, entered into the record.
Staff initially pursued the camera add-on with no plans for public input. The City has now committed to a Council vote and public comment. Ask that no decision happen until the public has seen the full cost, the number and locations of cameras, and the contract terms.
A $19,000 Oregon Criminal Justice Commission grant is the headline number, but it covers only part of re-installation. The City Manager's report references a phased rollout — which suggests more cameras, and more cost, over time. Ask for the full multi-year price and the plan's ultimate size.
Bend PD policy says the Axon ALPR system automatically queries LEDS and NCIC. With OSP under suit for letting federal immigration authorities query Oregonians' records, ask how fixed-camera data is shared, retained, and shielded from out-of-state or federal legal process.
Data stored in a vendor's cloud is only as protected as the vendor's willingness to refuse a subpoena. Ask the City to require, at minimum, the SB 1516 standards — 30-day retention, search logging, Oregon-only sharing defaults, end-to-end encryption, and vendor liability for misuse.
Pick one or two that resonate — speaking from your own values lands far better than reading a list. Keep it under two minutes (City) or three (County).
“I'm asking Council to hold any vote until the public can see the full cost, the number of cameras, their locations, and the actual contract terms — not just the $19,000 grant figure.”
“Bend's own police policy says the Axon ALPR system automatically queries state and federal databases. Before we expand that to fixed cameras, I want to know exactly where this data flows and who can request it.”
“Oregon State Police are being sued for letting federal immigration authorities query Oregonians' records. I don't want Bend's cameras feeding that same pipeline.”
“If we build this, it must meet every standard in Senate Bill 1516 — 30-day retention, search logs, Oregon-only sharing, end-to-end encryption, and vendor liability — written into binding policy and contract, not just promised.”
“Stationary cameras record everyone, not just suspects. I'd like a sunset clause requiring an affirmative public renewal, plus published audit reports, so this can't quietly grow.”
“Oregon's shield laws protect reproductive care, gender-affirming care, and immigrant communities. Please get a legal opinion on whether out-of-state cloud storage of this data undermines those protections before expanding.”
If you can't attend, written comment still counts. Copy the template below, personalize the bracketed parts, and send it to council@bendoregon.gov (City) and/or citizeninput@deschutes.org (County — by noon Tuesday, June 2). A sentence or two in your own words at the top makes a big difference.
The only reason there will be a vote and a public process at all is that residents spoke up after the “de-Flocking.” Officials respond to a visible, organized, respectful public. Your two or three minutes are part of that pressure.