Flock Safety license plate reader surveillance raises privacy concerns
Flock Safety's automatic license plate reader cameras, deployed across thousands of U.S. communities, have drawn privacy concerns from residents and advocacy groups who report the system enables mass surveillance without warrants or public notification. Reports indicate that law enforcement agencies in Washington state shared Flock camera data with U.S. Border Patrol for immigration enforcement, contrary to stated policies.
What happened
Flock Safety's Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras have been deployed across the United States, with the company reporting coverage of 49 states, over 5,000 communities, and partnerships with more than 4,800 law enforcement agencies, reading upwards of 20 billion license plates per month.
In Yakima, Washington, the Police Department has operated 87 Flock cameras since 2022. A University of Washington Center for Human Rights report released in October 2025 found that Yakima and at least seven other Washington law enforcement agencies had enabled access to their Flock network data to U.S. Border Patrol during 2025, contrary to city policy and departmental policy.
In Sedona, Arizona, the police department deployed 11 Flock cameras without notifying the city council. Once discovered, residents raised privacy concerns at a public meeting, and the council terminated the contract and removed all cameras.
Reported impact
Privacy advocates and residents have raised concerns that the cameras enable mass surveillance without court-issued warrants or public consent, with citizens often unaware they are being monitored.
Immigration enforcement access to Flock data in Washington state has drawn particular concern, with the University of Washington report characterizing Border Patrol's network access as 'effectively opening the front door for searches potentially related to civil immigration enforcement activities.'
Index analysis
Flock's AI platform stitches together vehicle travel patterns from license plate data. The data collection occurs without explicit warrant requirements or notification to individuals being monitored.
A Washington judge recently ruled that images captured by Flock cameras are public record, raising additional concerns about potential misuse of the data.
Governance controls
Flagstaff, Arizona delayed a vote on renewing its Flock contract to revisit contract terms and gather public feedback. Central Washington Resistance presented a petition with more than 550 signatures urging Yakima to develop a policy governing camera use and data access before continuing operations.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.