LAPD Pauses Access to 138 Flock Cameras After 3-Year Deal Expires Over Privacy Concerns
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 30
LAPD Pauses Access to 138 Flock Cameras After 3-Year Deal Expires Over Privacy Concerns
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 30
Summary
July 11 ended LAPD’s 2023 agreement with Flock Safety, cutting officers’ regular access to data from 138 city cameras while the devices kept collecting images in the cloud.
LAPD let the contract lapse as it sought tighter terms on data ownership, privacy and security, including provisions giving the city ownership of all records and barring Flock from selling, sharing or using them to train AI.
Chief Jim McDonnell still called the system a valuable investigative tool, reflecting the trade-off after an LAPD review found 337 alerts helped recover stolen vehicles but 161 plates were wrongly flagged over two months.
The pause comes amid broader scrutiny of automated license plate readers, with DeFlock mapping about 119,000 nationwide—roughly 83% tied to Flock—and privacy advocates warning that repeated scans can reconstruct innocent drivers’ movements.
California has already tightened ALPR sharing rules, and state enforcement has intensified since Attorney General Rob Bonta sued El Cajon in 2025 over alleged sharing with more than 100 out-of-state agencies.