Mayflower has become the second Central Arkansas city in the last week to ditch its Flock Safety license plate readers. Interim Police Chief Brittany Byrd announced Monday that after “evaluating the capabilities” of the cameras, Mayflower will discontinue their use and will “rescind their deployment within the city immediately.” The move comes three days after the city of Cabot announced its decision to stop using Flock cameras pending a “comprehensive review.” Last month, the police chief in Pea Ridge announced his city would no longer use the devices. In her announcement, Byrd acknowledged Flock cameras have aided in the investigation of criminal cases across the country, including in Mayflower. But despite the benefits, she wrote, “we believe them to be intrusive in nature.” “The Mayflower Police Department will not participate in tactics which compromise or infringe upon the liberties entitled to law-abiding citizens,” Byrd wrote. Flock license plate reader cameras take pictures of passing cars and log their license plate numbers, comparing the captured information against so-called hot lists assembled by the law enforcement agencies that operate them. Flock Safety, the company that manufactures the devices, states on its website that the cameras don’t use facial recognition software but boast the ability to search captured images based on a description of a vehicle — such as its color, make and model, or unique features such as bumper stickers — if a plate number isn’t known. Many cities in Arkansas use the cameras, including Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, Hot Springs, Benton, Bryant, Jacksonville and Sherwood. Nationally, more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies have bought Flock’s license plate readers, the company’s website states. Byrd said Mayflower signed a multi-year agreement with Flock Safety in 2023 that runs through 2027. “Police Department personnel have been communicating with representatives from Flock Safety