Oxnard Police Department Suspends Use of Flock Safety Automated License Plate Readers (02/27/26)
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Oxnard Police Department Suspends Use of Flock Safety Automated License Plate Readers (02/27/26)
The Oxnard Police Department (OPD) has suspended its operation of Flock Safety’s (Flock) fixed-position Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR).
...California law prohibits sharing of ALPR data with entities outside of California. This includes federal law enforcement agencies. Because of this, OPD’s “National Lookup” feature on the Flock system was turned off at the very beginning of its Flock ALPR deployment, which began in December of 2023.
...Earlier this year, some California agencies across the state discovered that due to a vendor-based issue, their Flock Safety National Lookup feature had inexplicably been turned on during a period of time in February through March of 2025. Flock Safety confirmed that a review of agency audit logs within the Flock platform revealed that during a period in 2025, some California law enforcement agencies’ camera networks became accessible to out-of-state law enforcement agencies. This meant that agencies outside of California, including federal ones, were able to include them in their queries. The issue affected multiple California law enforcement agencies, including within Ventura County.
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Oxnard Police Department Suspends Use of Flock Safety Automated License Plate Readers (02/27/26)
The Oxnard Police Department (OPD) has suspended its operation of Flock Safety’s (Flock) fixed-position Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR).
...California law prohibits sharing of ALPR data with entities outside of California. This includes federal law enforcement agencies. Because of this, OPD’s “National Lookup” feature on the Flock system was turned off at the very beginning of its Flock ALPR deployment, which began in December of 2023.
...Earlier this year, some California agencies across the state discovered that due to a vendor-based issue, their Flock Safety National Lookup feature had inexplicably been turned on during a period of time in February through March of 2025. Flock Safety confirmed that a review of agency audit logs within the Flock platform revealed that during a period in 2025, some California law enforcement agencies’ camera networks became accessible to out-of-state law enforcement agencies. This meant that agencies outside of California, including federal ones, were able to include them in their queries. The issue affected multiple California law enforcement agencies, including within Ventura County.
...From Oxnard PD:
"....When OPD heard about this vendor-related issue that occurred with the Flock Safety platform, it initiated an audit of its Flock Safety ALPR data for calendar year 2025. In 2025, OPD’s Flock system received over 5 million queries.
The audit revealed that even though OPD’s Flock Safety security settings had been set to “California only” access, a vendor-enabled “nationwide query” allowed agencies from outside of California, which also include federal agencies, to query OPD’s data without OPD's knowledge or approval...."
(!!!!)
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From Oxnard PD:
"....When OPD heard about this vendor-related issue that occurred with the Flock Safety platform, it initiated an audit of its Flock Safety ALPR data for calendar year 2025. In 2025, OPD’s Flock system received over 5 million queries.
The audit revealed that even though OPD’s Flock Safety security settings had been set to “California only” access, a vendor-enabled “nationwide query” allowed agencies from outside of California, which also include federal agencies, to query OPD’s data without OPD's knowledge or approval...."
(!!!!)
Dear Oxnard Police Department,
When you buy Flock cameras, you are not buying--or leasing--cameras. You are paying for a monthly service, where Flock installs their cameras, connects them to their servers, and then shares some of their video data and analysis with you.
Flock may choose--if you discontinue payment--to keep their local cameras in place and still recording for the benefit of themselves and other clients. Sharing with you can resume upon resumption of payment.
Suckers.
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R relay@relay.infosec.exchange shared this topic
