Flock license plate readers

Flock license plate readers

Basic Information
Release Year	2017
Product Type	Cameras, Security, Surveillance
In Production	Yes
Official Website	https://www.flocksafety.com/products/license-plate-readers

Flock License Plate Readers (previously known as Flock Safety Falcon), are a network of AI-powered surveillance cameras that record vehicle data for law enforcement agencies. The system operates in over 5,000 communities across 49 states in the U.S.A. According to the company's own marketing materials, Flock performs over 20 billion vehicle scans monthly.

Consumer impact summary

Freedom

Residents and taxpayers have no mechanism to opt out of Flock Safety's surveillance network. The cameras operate 24/7 in public spaces, recording all passing vehicles regardless of consent. They are also placed on private premises like universities, hospitals, businesses, and neighborhood associations, which often share this data with law enforcement. This data can later be integrated into predictive police platforms like Palantir.

Unlike traditional security cameras that may be avoided by choosing different routes, Flock's expanding network of over 100,000 cameras makes avoidance increasingly difficult. The system uses AI to create "Vehicle Fingerprints" that identify vehicles by characteristics beyond license plates, including make, model, color, aftermarket parts, window stickers, and roof racks.

Privacy

While Flock Safety claims their system doesn't violate Fourth Amendment rights because "license plates are not personal information," federal courts have challenged this interpretation. In February 2024, a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit challenging Norfolk, Virginia's use of 172 Flock cameras could proceed, finding that plaintiffs had plausibly alleged the system creates a "detailed chronicle of a person's physical presence compiled every day."

Data collected includes location history that can reveal sensitive information about medical visits, religious attendance, political activities, and personal associations. While Flock states data is deleted after 30 days, contracts grant them "perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license" to use anonymized data indefinitely. The system shares data across a network of over 4,800 law enforcement agencies nationally.

"Anonymized Data"

While Flock's Terms and Conditions define "Anonymized Data" as customer data that is "permanently stripped of identifying details and any potential personally identifiable information" and is rendered so that a person or entity "can no longer be identified directly or indirectly," this definition includes information such as vehicle make, model, color, location patterns, and other non–license-plate attributes.

Privacy researchers caution that mobility datasets labeled as "anonymized" can still be re-identified. A 2013 MIT study found that just four spatio-temporal points uniquely identified 95% of individuals in an anonymized location dataset. Multiple peer-reviewed studies from 2018-2024 demonstrate that "anonymized" vehicle location data can be re-identified with high accuracy. A 2022 study showed researchers could re-identify drivers from raw vehicle network data with 97% accuracy by exploiting inter-dependencies in sensor measurements. Research published in the Journal of Computer Science and Technology (2022) found that even three to four location points can uniquely identify individuals.

Business model

Flock operates on a subscription model charging municipalities and law enforcement agencies $2,500 USD per camera annually plus installation costs. Private businesses including Home Depot, Lowe's, and FedEx also deploy cameras, sharing data with law enforcement. Contracts include automatic renewal clauses and limit municipal oversight capabilities, with cities unable to audit system operations or control how other agencies use shared data.

Market control

Flock Safety has rapidly expanded to become a dominant force in automated license plate recognition, operating in 49 states with over 40,000 cameras deployed. The company's network effect creates pressure for additional jurisdictions to join, as law enforcement effectiveness depends on network coverage. Several states have begun restricting access following privacy violations, with California, Illinois, and New York limiting data sharing after immigration and abortion-related tracking incidents.

Premise of a "license plate camera"

While marketed as "license plate readers,"' Flock cameras use what the company calls "Vehicle Fingerprint" technology which tracks vehicles using characteristics beyond just license plates. The system catalogs vehicles based on numerous distinguishing features including make, model, color, bumper stickers, dents, damage patterns, roof racks, aftermarket modifications such as wheels or spoilers, window stickers, and even mismatching paint colors.. According to Flock's own marketing materials, the system can identify vehicles even when license plates cannot be captured, advertised as turning "images into actionable evidence — no plate required."

Flock claims this capability is "unique among ALPR systems" and allows law enforcement to search for vehicles based on these characteristics even without a visible license plate.

This technology changes the nature of the surveillance from license plate reading to comprehensive vehicle tracking. A person could still be tracked by the unique combination of their vehicle's physical characteristics. The Electronic Frontier Foundation warns that these "vehicle fingerprints" could flag vehicles based on political bumper stickers, revealing "information on the political or social views of the driver," or economic indicators like rust or damage, potentially "endangering anyone who might not feel the need (or have the income required) to keep their car in perfect shape."

Privacy advocates note that this expanded tracking capability makes the term "license plate reader" misleading, as Flock systems create detailed vehicle profiles that persist even without readable plates. It turns any distinguishing feature of a vehicle into a tracking identifier.

Patent for person identification by race and physical characteristics

A U.S. Patent granted to Flock Group Inc. in August 2022 reveals the company has developed and patented technology to identify and classify people based on race, gender, and other physical characteristics. Patent US 11,416,545 B1 describes a system that goes beyond vehicle identification to analyze human subjects captured in surveillance footage.

According to the patent documentation, when the system identifies a human being in captured footage, it uses neural network modules specifically configured to classify people by "male, female, race, etc." The patent further describes using additional neural networks to identify clothing types, estimate height and weight, and other physical characteristics of individuals. The system can then store this classification data in searchable databases, allowing law enforcement to query for people based on these physical attributes.

The patent shows that Flock's technology is designed to create comprehensive profiles that can track individuals across multiple camera locations by matching physical characteristics. While Flock publicly markets its products as "license plate readers" focused on vehicles, this patent demonstrates the company has developed capabilities for detailed human surveillance and classification by protected characteristics including race and gender.

Privacy and civil-liberties advocates have warned that biometric/appearance-based identification and classification—especially along race and gender lines—can enable discriminatory policing and amplify harms from demographic bias and misidentification. In that context, the Flock Group patent’s explicit discussion of classifying people by attributes including “race” and “male/female” suggests capabilities that extend beyond vehicle identification.

Legal challenges

Washington state judge declares Flock footage as public records (6 Nov 2025)

An Oregon resident filed public records requests at various police departments in the state of Washington regarding information collected from Flock cameras. The cities of Stanwood and Sedro-Woolley filed a motion to reject the resident's request, with their attorney stating that publicizing Flock footage may be a violation of privacy that could lead to stalking.

Some exemptions are given to deny public records request, particularly due to investigations. However, the judge dismissed the motion, declaring that the camera footage was "so broad and indiscriminate" with no distinction between criminal activity and casual civilian activity that the data had to be released to the public.

The judge stated:

“I do think that the information at stake does have serious privacy implications, but that’s not the analysis for the intelligence information exemption,” she said. “You also have to make a finding that this is specific intelligence information that is compiled by investigative or law enforcement agencies, and the information that’s being compiled here does not relate to a specific case or investigation. The public already knows that these cameras exist and are operated. Many of them are in sight. The information does not disclose particular methods or procedures for gathering or evaluating intelligence information.”

Norfolk federal lawsuit (February 2025)

In February 2025, Chief Judge Mark S. Davis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied Norfolk's motion to dismiss a landmark Fourth Amendment lawsuit. The case involves two residents whose vehicles were tracked 526 times in 4.5 months and 849 times over the same period, figures revealed in a September 2025 court filing. Norfolk installed 172 Flock Safety cameras in 2023 at a cost of $430,000-$516,000 annually. Police Chief Mark Talbot stated the goal was making it "difficult to drive anywhere of any distance without running into a camera somewhere."

Judge Davis's ruling relied on Carpenter v. United States, the 2018 Supreme Court decision requiring warrants for historical cell phone location data. The court found Norfolk's ALPR network "notably similar" to the surveillance the Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional. However, courts remain divided. In November 2024, Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne in the same district denied a motion to suppress Flock evidence, holding that three vehicle snapshots don't constitute "persistent surveillance" requiring a warrant.

Virginia state courts show similar disagreement. Norfolk Circuit Court Judge Jamilah LeCruise granted a suppression motion in May 2024, finding that the breadth of Flock cameras covering Norfolk requires a warrant. Yet three other Norfolk circuit court judges denied similar motions in 2024.

State regulatory landscape

Only 16 states have enacted any form of ALPR regulation as of 2024 according to University of Michigan research. Virginia enacted House Bill 2724 in 2025 creating annual reporting requirements. Illinois Public Act 103-0540 explicitly prohibits use for reproductive healthcare punishment and immigration investigations.

Illinois prohibits law enforcement agencies from sharing ALPR data with other jurisdictions in relation to a person's immigration status. New Hampshire requires a three-minute purge of data from ALPR use with the exception of ongoing investigations.

California’s SB 34 requires public agencies using ALPR systems to implement usage and privacy policies as well as limits to data sharing. However, enforcement remains inconsistent, with a 2020 state audit finding widespread non-compliance.

Notable incidents

Illinois audit findings (2024-2025)

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced in late August 2024 that Flock Safety violated state law by allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to access Illinois license plate data for immigration enforcement. The audit of 12 local law enforcement agencies revealed unauthorized pilot programs with CBP and Homeland Security Investigations, violating Illinois law prohibiting data sharing for immigration enforcement, gender-affirming care investigations, and abortion-related matters. Following the audit, 47 out-of-state agencies were removed from access to Illinois data.

Mount Prospect, Illinois reported 262 immigration-related license plate reader searches in just the first few months of 2025. A Palos Heights detective shared Flock login credentials with a DEA agent who conducted 28 unauthorized searches of Oak Park ALPR data explicitly labeled "immigration violation."

California violations (2015-2025)

California passed Senate Bill 34 in 2015 to limit how California police departments can use and share data collected from these cameras with other state's and federal law enforcement agencies. These limits have been found to be violated on several occasions with little enforcement or consequences for the misusing departments.

A 2023 EFF investigation found 71 California police agencies in 22 counties illegally shared data with out-of-state law enforcement. San Francisco Police Department alone allowed 1.6 million illegal searches by out-of-state agencies from 2024-2025. The California Attorney General filed the first enforcement action against the City of El Cajon in 2025 for sharing with 26 states.

False positive incidents

Families detained at gunpoint

In Española, New Mexico, 21-year-old Jaclynn Gonzales and her 12-year-old sister were held at gunpoint and handcuffed after Flock's system mistook a "2" for a "7" on their license plate, falsely flagging their vehicle as stolen.

ALPR systems often misread license plates according to multiple investigations, leading to hardship & legal trouble for innocent civilians.

Law enforcement stalking incidents

In October 2022, Kechi, Kansas Police Lieutenant Victor Heiar was arrested and later pleaded guilty to computer crimes and stalking after using Flock cameras to track his estranged wife's movements over four months. In a separate Kansas incident, Sedgwick Police Chief Lee Nygaard accessed Flock data 164 times to track his ex-girlfriend before resigning after admitting to the misuse.

Multiple other documented cases include Las Vegas Metro Officer Christopher Young arrested in December 2023 for stalking his ex-fiancée using police databases, and Riverside County Deputy Eric Piscatella pleading guilty in February 2024 to seven counts of misusing sheriff's department databases to stalk a woman he met at Coachella.

Abortion and reproductive healthcare tracking

In May 2025, Johnson County, Texas sheriff's deputies used Flock's network to track a woman suspected of self-managing an abortion. They conducted searches across 83,000+ Flock cameras nationwide with the explicit reason: "had an abortion, search for female." The search accessed cameras across multiple states including those where abortion is legal. The incident led Illinois officials to investigate and subsequently block 47+ out-of-state agencies from accessing Illinois ALPR data.

Investigations and court records show that some law enforcement officers have misused Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) systems for personal, non-investigative purposes, including stalking romantic partners or monitoring civilians. These incidents highlight weaknesses & lack of internal oversight, & the reliance on post-hoc audits rather than real-time safeguards.

In Menasha, Wisconsin, police officer Cristian Morales was charged in January 2026 with misconduct in office after allegedly using the department’s Flock ALPR system to track his ex-girlfriend. Prosecutors alleged Morales conducted five unauthorized searches of his ex-partner’s vehicle in October 2025. According to the criminal complaint, Morales admitted he knew the searches were improper and cited “desperation and bad judgment.” He was placed on administrative leave, prohibited from accessing Flock systems, and released on a $10,000 cash bond pending further proceedings. Court records also show a related civil filing seeking a temporary restraining order in a domestic abuse case.

The Menasha case matches what is becoming a national pattern. In Kansas, Kechi Police Lieutenant Victor Heiar pleaded guilty in 2022 to computer crimes & stalking after using Flock cameras to monitor his estranged wife’s movements over several months. In another Kansas incident, Sedgwick Police Chief Lee Nygaard admitted in 2025 to accessing Flock ALPR data more than 160 times to track his ex-girlfriend and her new partner, resulting in his resignation and loss of police certification.

More cases involving other surveillance systems show a similar misuse. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer Christopher Young was arrested in 2023 for stalking his ex-fiancée using police databases, and in California, Riverside County deputy Eric Piscatella pleaded guilty in 2024 to multiple counts of misusing sheriff’s department databases to stalk a woman he met while off duty.

Oversight reviews & civil liberties organizations have noted that ALPR systems enable quick searches of historical vehicle location data across wide geographic areas. This reduces practical barriers to stalking & increases the risk of abuse by authorized users. While Flock & participating agencies rely on usage policies & access logs, many cases show misuse was detected only after complaints or later audits rather than through proactive safeguards.

Federal agency access

Immigration and Customs Enforcement maintains a $6.1 million contract giving 9,000+ ICE officers access to the Vigilant Solutions ALPR database containing over 5 billion location data points. The Drug Enforcement Administration operates a National License Plate Reader Program with over 10,000 license plate readers shared throughout the United States. 404 Media revealed over 4,000 searches by local and state police for federal immigration enforcement purposes, despite Flock having no formal ICE contract. A DEA agent was found using an Illinois police officer's credentials to conduct unauthorized immigration searches.

Illegal Camera Installations

In South Carolina, Flock installed over 200 cameras without authorization, leading to a statewide moratorium on new installations.

In Illinois, a Flock representative allegedly threatened a Department of Transportation official with police pressure when questioned about permit applications.

Evanston, IL

Flock was ordered to remove 18 stationary cameras. The city put the contract with Flock on a 30-day termination notice on August 26. Flock Initially appeared to comply, removing 15 of the cameras by September 8. Later, Flock was caught reinstalling all of them by the following Tuesday without authorization from the city. The city of Evanston responded with a cease-and-desist order for Flock to remove the new and unauthorized camera equipment. Because Flock reinstalled the cameras without permission, Evanston was forced to cover the cameras with tape and bags to block them from potentially logging vehicle data.

City rejections and terminations

Multiple cities have rejected or terminated Flock contracts following privacy concerns and effectiveness issues:

0.2% effectiveness rate, low arrests: Austin, Texas terminated its contract in July 2025 after an audit revealed "systematic compliance failures" and only 165 arrests from 113 million license plate scans (0.146% effectiveness rate).

Denver City Council unanimously rejected a $666,000 contract extension in May 2025 following revelations of 1,400+ ICE-related searches in Colorado data.

San Marcos, Texas voted 5-2 to deny camera expansion after discovering no required audits had been conducted since 2022.

Oak Park, Illinois terminated their contract entirely following the Illinois investigation into illegal data sharing.

Arizona deployments

Sedona, Arizona became the first Arizona city to completely terminate its Flock Safety contract in September 2025 after citizen backlash. The city had installed 11 cameras in June 2025 without prior public notice at a cost of $51,146 for the first year. The council voted 5-1 to pause the program, then unanimously 7-0 on September 9 to permanently terminate after Flock CEO Garrett Langley admitted the company had been sharing data with federal agencies. Vice Mayor Holli Ploog called Flock "not an honorable company" for the conflicting data-sharing claims.

Flagstaff deployed 32 Flock cameras in summer 2024 at a cost of $143,100 annually. By September 2025, a petition signed by 25+ residents demanded cancellation.

University of Arizona contracted with Flock in February 2025 for 54 ALPR cameras at $160,000 annually. Students and faculty launched a "Deflock Tucson" campaign citing concerns about tracking international students and potential data sharing with federal immigration authorities.

Casa Grande approved a $10 million "Safe City Initiative" in September 2025 including 100 license plate readers. Chief Mark McCrory reported the current 22 license plate readers led to 212 stolen vehicles identified and 168 arrests.

Despite documented deployments across Arizona including Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Tempe, Surprise, Youngtown, Litchfield Park, and Yuma, the state has no ALPR-specific regulation.

Security vulnerabilities

In 2025, Flock Safety reported security vulnerabilities in its devices and submitted them to MITRE for inclusion in the National Vulnerability Database, including issues such as hard-coded credentials and improper access controls. Similar security concerns have affected other ALPR systems, including exposure of default passwords and unencrypted data storage.

This represents one of several major security disclosures in the past decade. In 2015, the Electronic Frontier Foundation documented more than 100 ALPR cameras accessible on the open internet, often without passwords or proper configuration. A more serious documented breach occurred in 2019, when Perceptics, LLC, a subcontractor for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, exposed approximately 105,000 license plate images and 184,000 traveler facial images.

In 2025 it has been discovered that the cameras run Android 8.0 (Oreo) an operating system with 90 security vulnerabilities. The cameras also send data unencrypted and are easily tricked by stingrays. The compute boxes have easily accessible USB-c ports leaving the device vulnerable to rubber duckies. When the power button is pressed in a specific order the device emits a Wi-Fi hotspot that can be used to gain adb access.

Government accountability and oversight

State audit findings

California State Auditor's February 2020 investigation found the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), with a 320 million image database, had no ALPR-specific policy at all. The audit found 96% of agencies claim to have policies, but most are incomplete. Data retention periods varied wildly with no justification. LAPD maintained a minimum five-year retention period, yet couldn't demonstrate that images stored for years had investigative value. The audit found that 99.9% of the 320 million images Los Angeles stores are for vehicles that were not on a "hot list" when the image was made.

New Jersey provides a contrasting model with mandatory annual audits of all 523 law enforcement agencies. The 2024 audit reported only two significant violations, both involving users who hadn't completed required training.

A Government Technology analysis found that agencies often fail to audit ALPR systems regularly, leaving them "open to abuse by neglecting to institute sufficient oversight."

Cost-benefit analysis

Arizona Department of Transportation's 2008 study of generic ALPR technology (predating Flock Safety by nine years) estimated $9.98 million for a hypothetical statewide ALPR system. The projected benefit-to-cost ratio of 9.6:1 came entirely from registration and insurance compliance, not crime reduction.

Colorado's Office of Research and Statistics reported that while ALPR systems are expanding, independent academic research contradicts vendor claims. A 2011 George Mason University study concluded ALPRs "do not achieve a prevention or deterrent effect" on crime.

Oakland Police Department reported 182 arrests from ALPR in the first year, representing 1.4% of homicides, robberies, burglaries, and firearm assaults. The Northern California Regional Intelligence Center states approximately 1-2 vehicles out of 1,000 initiate alerts — a hit rate of just 0.1-0.2%.

Mountain View Findings

The Mountain View Police Department became aware in early January in 2026 during a department-initiated audit that for a brief period in 2024 federal agencies accessed data from the first camera in operation in the city.

“During the prior federal administration, from August to November 2024, several federal law enforcement agencies accessed Mountain View’s Flock Safety ALPR system for one camera via a 'nationwide' search setting that was turned on by Flock Safety. This setting was enabled without MVPD’s permission or knowledge. The federal agencies that accessed the one camera’s data include Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offices in Kentucky and Nashville, TN; Langley Air Force Base in Virginia; the U.S. GSA Office of Inspector General; Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada; and an Ohio Air Force Base. Flock Safety did not retain records for that time period, which means the vendor cannot determine whether searches of Mountain View’s data resulted in license plate information being shared.”

MVPD officers also uncovered that “statewide lookup” had been turned on for all the city’s cameras since the program began. This feature has been turned off by the department on January 5, 2026. The MVPD plans to present a review of the ALPR pilot program to the City Council.

On February 2, 2026 Mountain View Police Chief Mike Canfield announced that all of the city's license plate cameras are being disabled, effective immediately.

Camera locations

The locations of many Flock Cameras have been mapped by the OpenStreetMap project. A viewer of the locations of these cameras is located here: ALPR Map | DeFlock

Cease and desist to DeFlock.me

DeFlock.me is a website allowing users to log and view the locations of ALPRs, such as Flock products. On 30 January 2025, Flock sent a cease and desist notice to the owner of DeFlock demanding the name of the website be changed to exclude the company's brand name. The letter also stated that "the Website also implies that various license plate readers are vulnerable to security hacks [...]" which Flock alleged "[...] provides a false impression about the security of Flock Products."

External links

• DeFlock live map of active ALPRs
• No ALPRS movement in United States
• The Plate Privacy Project
• Eyes On Flock
• ALPR Watch Wiki