The Metro: License plate cameras at Ferndale-Detroit border creating controversy

Metro Producer Jack Filbrandt sat down with Detroit Documenters Coordinator Noah Kincade to learn more. 

Ferndale Sign Suburb Metro Detroit

A road sign welcomes drivers to Ferndale.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple PodcastsSpotifyNPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Detroit Documenters have been taking notes on growing tensions in Ferndale. 

The Ferndale Police Department has contracted with Flock Safety, an automated license plate reader company, for over a year. Now, city officials are considering renewing the contract with Flock Safety. 

Most of the license plate reader cameras are along the Ferndale-Detroit border, and some people are worried it could result in police disproportionately targeting Black residents. 

The Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Ferndale’s chief of police in 2014, asking for an investigation into traffic stops in the city. That letter came after several complaints from Black drivers about arrest statistics at the Ferndale-Detroit border. 

Metro Producer Jack Filbrandt sat down with Detroit Documenters Coordinator Noah Kincade to learn more. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Monday, March 3, 2025.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.

WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today. Donate today »

Authors

  • John Filbrandt
    Jack Filbrandt is an assistant producer on WDET's daily news, arts and culture program, The Metro. He grew up on Lake Michigan and has called Detroit home for seven years. He's also a Detroit Documenter, covering local government meetings in the city. He previously worked for Wayne State's student newspaper, The South End, and The Battering Ram.
  • Lauren Myers
  • The Metro