ATLANTA, Aug. 13 (Our Los Angeles) — Flock Safety is changing how its automated license-plate-reader network stores and shares vehicle-location data after criticism over police access and alleged misuse of the system. The changes are especially relevant in Los Angeles, where the Los Angeles Police Department has paused or declined to renew its agreement with the company while seeking tighter control over the data collected by 138 cameras.
Flock announced the changes Aug. 13. The company said the default retention period for vehicle-location data would fall from 30 days to seven days. Retention means how long information remains available for searches after a camera records a vehicle.
The seven-day period is a default, not necessarily a universal limit. Flock said agencies could keep data longer for active investigations through a new tool called “Evidence Mode.” Longer retention could also depend on state or local rules and agency policies.
What is Flock Safety’s system?
Flock sells cameras and software used by law-enforcement agencies to read license plates and identify vehicle characteristics. The system can record a plate, the time and location of a sighting, and other details about a vehicle’s appearance. Police agencies can search the data to investigate crimes or locate vehicles.
Because the cameras can collect information about vehicles that are not suspected of wrongdoing, privacy advocates have described the network as a form of mass surveillance. The concern is that records of people’s movements could be searched or shared beyond the investigation that first prompted the search.
Flock’s new controls are intended to address some of those concerns. The company said every search will require a reason and a case code. An exception will be available for genuine emergencies, such as a search for a missing child.
Flock also said it will make its Audit Assistance system standard for law-enforcement customers. The system is designed to identify unusual search activity. It can lock a user out while an administrator reviews the account.
The company said agencies will be able to decide which categories of offenses outside agencies may use when searching their camera data. That includes the ability to block searches connected to immigration enforcement.
Why is Los Angeles important to the dispute?
Los Angeles entered a memorandum of understanding with Flock in 2023. The agreement expired in June 2026, according to reporting that cited LAPD officials. In July, LAPD paused use of the service or did not renew the agreement over questions about data ownership, privacy, security and sharing.
Dean Gialamas, LAPD’s chief information officer, said the contract was not renewed because of “serious concerns around civil liberties and civil rights issues,” including privacy and the data collected by the cameras.
LAPD and Flock were reported to be discussing a new agreement. LAPD’s proposed terms would give the department ownership of camera data and related metadata, restrict Flock from distributing the information to another entity, and bar the company from using it to train artificial intelligence systems. The sources do not establish that a new agreement has been completed or that LAPD has resumed using the cameras.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado introduced a motion in late May asking the Board of Police Commissioners not to enter new Flock agreements or pilot programs. The council and the police commission are among the local bodies involved in decisions about the department’s use of the technology.
What prompted the backlash?
The reforms followed reports and criticism alleging that officers had misused license-plate-reader systems, including searches involving romantic partners. The supplied reporting does not identify the individual officers or provide the underlying case records or outcomes.
The American Civil Liberties Union criticized Flock’s announcement, calling the changes “largely hollow security promises” and saying they did not adequately address concerns about the company’s surveillance system.
Flock CEO Garrett Langley has defended the company’s approach. He said the data should not be monetized. Flock has also said it does not sell the data and that agencies retain control over their information, positions that are central to the contract discussions in Los Angeles.
The new measures may reduce how long information is kept and make searches easier to review. They do not, by themselves, settle who owns the data, which agencies may access it, or whether local governments will continue using the cameras. Those questions remain at the center of Los Angeles’ negotiations with Flock and the broader debate over police surveillance technology.
