The use of Flock Safety cameras by law enforcement has shot up in recent years and skyrocketed as a topic in public discourse over the past months.
Flock is a technology company that provides various products — cameras, drones, software — intended to increase public safety. While the company was founded in 2017, its launching-pad moment came in August 2020, when it introduced TALON, the industry’s first network of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). While ALPRs were not new, such connectivity across the nation was. As announced by GlobeNewswire on that fateful August day, “TALON allows law enforcement to opt-in to sharing their Flock Safety ALPRs with other law enforcement agencies in their state or agencies in over 700 cities nationwide, providing near real-time information sharing across jurisdictions.”
Use of these products has massively helped law enforcement agencies. Homicide, arson, sexual assault, vehicle theft — solving such cases has been aided by the use of Flock cameras in our region (yes, our law enforcement is using the technology).
Currently, there are an estimated 120,000 Flock cameras across the U.S.
As use of the technology has grown, so have concerns of privacy and mass surveillance. Between January and May of this year, a Kentucky police officer used the software to track the mother of his child across both Kentucky and Indiana. Drivers have reported being wrongly pulled over on stolen vehicle charges because of high false positives in the cameras. While reported to no longer be utilizing programs with Flock, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection used the technology to monitor drivers and detain those with “suspicious” driving patterns, as reported by The Associated Press in November 2025.
Backlash has risen sharply this year. DeFlock, an open-source project that maps license plate readers, reported 109 cities canceling, deactivating, or rejecting the technology in 2026. Vandalism and protests are happening across the country on the subject.
In response, Flock has promised to install mandatory guardrails for use of its products by Jan. 1, 2027, including an audit tool to flag abnormal search behavior and the shortening of video retention from 30 days to seven.
I reached out to local law enforcement agencies to understand their use of Flock cameras, and how they approach the concerns about privacy.
~ AH
When did your department begin utilizing Flock and/or other automated license plate readers (ALPR)? What was used prior to this system?
Town of Truckee Police: In January of 2023, town council authorized a one-year ALPR pilot project in response to increasing public safety challenges being experienced locally. From a crime standpoint, Truckee at that time had seen a 300% year-to-year increase in vehicle thefts. Additionally, the police department’s Office of Emergency Services was encountering significant challenges when trying to accurately gauge seasonally fluctuating population data for emergency evacuation planning. This technology provided potential solutions to both challenges by increasing our efficiency to investigate and prevent crime, while also allowing vehicle traffic count data to be used in evacuation modeling for wildfire and other large scale disaster planning. The one-year pilot program proved to be a success, resulting in the continuance of the ALPR program to date. There was no ALPR technology used prior to this.
~ Town of Truckee Public Information Officer Bron Roberts
Placer County Sheriff’s Office: Our office began using Flock in 2023, following approval by the board of supervisors.
~ PCSO Public Information Officer Elise Soviar
Washoe County Sheriff’s Office: Vigilant ALPR technology had been utilized by the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office prior to the implementation of Flock Safety technology.
~ WCSO Public Information Officer Rachel Piccinini
Does your department use any ALPR system aside from Flock Safety, such as LiveView Technologies?
Truckee PD: No. Truckee PD does not use any other ALPR technology.
PCSO: No.
WCSO: Yes. The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office also utilizes Axon ALPR technology.
Flock cameras are integrated with a national database of known wanted vehicles. When a camera detects a wanted car, an alert goes out to local law enforcement. This is known as a Hot List alert.
In the last 30 days (as of Aug. 13, 2026), there have been 1,720 “hotlist hits” flagged by Flock cameras in Truckee. Based on hotlist policy, these hits could refer to stolen vehicles, cars connected to Amber/Silver alerts, and vehicles associated with wanted criminals or active felony investigations. Do all 1,720 hits qualify as such?
Truckee PD: Yes. The majority of “hotlist hits” are a result of the summarized categories you mentioned. However, the primary reason for the high hotlist figure is mainly due to the number of vehicles with stolen license plates traveling our roadways. Stolen license plates usually account for over 95% of these monthly numbers. This high figure is common among jurisdictions using this technology but is particularly pronounced in Truckee due to our location along a major interstate, and with millions of annual visitors traveling on our local roads when headed to Lake Tahoe.
Do the sheriff’s offices keep a running count of hotlist hits flagged by Flock cameras?
PCSO: Yes, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office receives hotlist alerts through Flock. These alerts are automatically logged within the Flock database.
WCSO: Yes, hotlist hits are derived from National Crime Information Center, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and Amber Alerts and are retained for 30 days. The hotlist hits are counted county-wide and not specific to any one neighborhood or region of the county.
Are there other local successes regarding use of the technology?
Truckee PD: Yes. Aside from the crucial vehicle count data this technology continues to provide for evacuation planning, there has been an overwhelming number of local success stories from crimes these cameras have directly helped solve. In the last two weeks alone, our department has intercepted two separate stolen vehicles associated with subjects who were armed and dangerous entering our community from other areas of the state. The instant notifications these cameras provide to our officers in the field when a vehicle like this is detected allows our department to quickly intercept these individuals before they continue their crime spree locally. Aside from these incidents, these cameras have helped us apprehend suspects or solved crimes related to homicide, arson to forestland, shootings, carjackings, sexual assault, burglaries, vehicle thefts, and have helped locate several missing persons since the program’s inception.
PCSO: We’ve had dozens of success stories using Flock technology. It has helped solve crimes ranging from burglaries and thefts to more complex investigations, including homicides. It has also played an important role in locating missing persons, particularly during Silver Alerts when older adults become disoriented and get lost.
WCSO: Our office has documented multiple investigations in which ALPR technology provided actionable investigative information, assisted with identifying or locating suspects and suspect vehicles, narrowed geographic search areas, eliminated investigative leads, and contributed to arrests or successful case resolutions.
How do you respond to those who consider Flock and similar technologies as a violation of private citizens’ lives?
Truckee PD: We understand and respect the concerns surrounding this technology. Our responsibility as our community’s police department is to make sure that any technology we use complies with all state and federal laws and contains the appropriate safeguards for privacy and data protection. Additionally, our ALPR policy was crafted to contain clearly defined limits and strict auditing measures to ensure ongoing accountability. Our June 29 town hall community discussion on police technology and equipment further reinforced our efforts with community members and allowed for an open dialogue to address any individual concerns. At the conclusion of the four-hour meeting, there was not a single member of the audience that expressed their displeasure of how Truckee PD was currently using this technology to best serve our community.
PCSO: The Ninth Circuit and sister jurisdictions have found that running license plate checks are not considered searches under the Fourth Amendment. There is no expectation of privacy to a license plate that is in a public place. License plate readers as well as traffic cameras have existed in our communities for decades. Our ALPR system is specifically used to solve crimes or locate missing persons and keep our communities safe. We have successfully used ALPR technology to solve numerous cases ranging from retail thefts to violent crimes such as shootings and homicides. Searches of our ALPR system requires specific training, signed agreements by the user as well as required “search reason” data to be entered along with a supporting law enforcement case number or call number. This data is only retained for 30 days before it is purged. This data is owned by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office and is never sold or provided to a third party. We do not share with out-of-state or federal agencies. Our administrators perform monthly audits of the searches.
WCSO: We understand and respect that members of our community may have questions or concerns about privacy and the use of technology in public safety. ALPRs are an investigative tool designed to help law enforcement identify vehicles associated with crimes and other public safety incidents. The technology captures still images of vehicles and license plates on public roadways and does not photograph or identify individuals.
Information generated through the system must be independently verified and evaluated by law enforcement as part of an investigation. What it can provide is a timely investigative lead that may help deputies identify a vehicle connected to a crime, locate a wanted or missing person, recover a stolen vehicle, or respond to another significant public safety concern.
We recognize that technology of this nature must be used responsibly and with appropriate safeguards. Its value to law enforcement does not eliminate the importance of privacy, accountability and public trust. ALPR is intended to supplement traditional investigative work, not replace it, and its use is limited to legitimate law enforcement and public safety purposes.
