Inkster adding more Flock cameras, gunshot detection devices as officials praise technology's successes

(FOX 2) - As other Metro Detroit communities end their contracts with a controversial security camera company, one city is embracing the technology in a bid to make the municipality safer.

Inkster announced a partnership with Flock Safety on Tuesday, which will include new license plate readers, security cameras, gunshot detection devices, and a new drone.

"It is not about general surveillance of our residents," said Inkster Police Chief Tamika Jenkins, "and much of this data generated by the system is not viewed by a person unless there is a crime committed."

Flock in Inkster

By the numbers:

 Under the Safe City Inkster initiative, the city will have 20 license plate readers. They currently have just six.

They are also adding five security cameras, and 48 gunshot detection systems around the city. 

Police also demonstrated their new drone, which will be active in late November or early December.

‘Success stories’

Local perspective:

An Inkster police sergeant celebrated some of the stories during the announcement, adding that he sympathized with residents who "probably don't want to hear from us telling you another story about how police believe that they should have this system."

"You probably want to hear real results (of) how we actually utilized the system," Sgt. Montreal Clay said.

Some of the stories:

• A sexual assault in February 2025 when police used a victim's description of the suspect's vehicle to make the arrest.
• An early-morning shooting in September 2026 where a caller described the suspect's vehicle. Police ruled out the description as inaccurate and used Flock to track down the vehicle before putting out a BOLO. 
• A liquor store shooting in September 2026 that police tracked down a vehicle dumped by the suspect. With additional evidence they tracked down the suspect at his girlfriend's house. 
• Earlier in October 2026, a stolen vehicle was recovered after the theft was reported earlier in the month.
• A gunshot detection in early October 2026 brought police out to a neighborhood where gunfire had been reported with the technology — not a witness. "We were able to determine what led up to the shooting. We were able to determine that not only was one individual involved, that there were two individuals involved, that there was actually a shootout between these two people."

The contract with the city is for 10 years.

Transparency

Dig deeper:

With the new contract, Inkster is also adding a transparency portal to their city website that will share statistics, policy, and highlight guardrails in place around Flock-collected data.

The Inkster Police chief admitted that the potential for police to misuse the technology will always be there, referring to incidents in Oakland County where a sheriff deputy was caught using the cameras for personal use.

"You're always going to have people that lack integrity, right? Or high moral standards. But we have put safeguards in place to deal with those type of things," Jenkins said. "We would love to be able to catch those thigns ahead of time, but let's be realistic, we can't always do that."

InksterPolice