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FREEDOM251

Freedom251 › Blog › ALPR

How to Find Out Whether Your Local Police Use Flock Safety Cameras

By Freedom251 Team · · 10 min read

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Start with your city police department or county sheriff’s official website. Search for “Flock,” “ALPR,” “LPR,” “automated license plate reader,” “license plate reader,” “transparency,” and “surveillance technology.” Then verify any apparent deployment with a current policy, contract, council record, procurement file, or written response from the agency. If the website is silent, ask the department or submit a public-records request; a missing map or portal does not prove that no Flock Safety cameras are in use.

The goal is to establish five facts: which agency controls the system, whether it is active now, where the records apply, what rules govern searches and retention, and which other organizations can access the data. Those details can change, so date every answer you obtain.

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What you are trying to verify

“Does my police department use Flock cameras?” is actually several questions. A camera visible near your home may belong to a neighboring city, county, state agency, campus, business, or another private operator. A police department may have a written ALPR policy without operating Flock hardware, or it may participate in another agency’s data-sharing arrangement. A contract approved years ago may have expired, been paused, or been replaced.

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Before treating a result as an answer, identify:

  • Agency: the city police department, county sheriff, campus police, or other organization involved.
  • Vendor and system: Flock Safety or another automated license plate reader (ALPR/LPR) provider.
  • Status: active, paused, terminated, planned, or not yet installed.
  • Geography: the jurisdiction and any neighboring or regional agencies covered by the record.
  • Controls: retention, search approvals, audits, outside access, and data-sharing agreements.

A reliable conclusion is therefore time-stamped and tied to a particular agency, not based only on a map, a social-media post, or a camera seen from the road.

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Step 1: Search the police and sheriff websites

Use the agency’s official domain, not a search result that merely repeats an allegation. Check both the municipal police site and the county sheriff site because their responsibilities and technology purchases may differ.

Search terms that reveal different records

  • Flock or Flock Safety may find vendor-specific pages, announcements, or contracts.
  • ALPR and LPR are common abbreviations in policies and council documents.
  • Automated license plate reader and license plate reader find documents that avoid abbreviations.
  • Transparency may lead to a technology portal, camera list, or annual report.
  • Surveillance technology can locate broader approval procedures that include ALPR.

Search the site’s own search box and a general search engine with the agency name plus each term. Look under pages titled “Policies,” “General Orders,” “Public Information,” “Technology,” “Transparency,” “Procurement,” and “City Council.” Download linked PDFs and note their publication or revision dates.

What makes an official page strong evidence

A page that explicitly says the agency uses Flock ALPR and links to a policy or public portal is strong confirmation. Shakopee Police, for example, publicly states that it uses Flock ALPR technology and links to a Flock public portal and its ALPR policy. The same page shows why a headline answer can be incomplete: local listings can distinguish cameras that are online, offline, relocating, or not yet installed. Treat those deployment details as a snapshot, not a permanent inventory.

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An ALPR policy by itself is weaker evidence of current Flock use. Policies may cover equipment the agency does not own, multiple vendors, or a program that has ended. Look for a companion contract, purchase record, current portal, or recent agency statement.

Step 2: Check council, budget, and procurement records

When a department website is vague, search the government records that authorize spending and policy. City and county council agendas, minutes, staff reports, budgets, purchase orders, bid files, and contract databases often identify the vendor more precisely than a police webpage.

Where to search

  • The city council or county commission agenda archive.
  • Clerk or secretary records for resolutions and meeting minutes.
  • Open-contract or procurement portals.
  • Annual budgets, grant awards, and departmental purchase ledgers.
  • Renewal notices, amendments, invoices, and termination documents.

Search for “Flock Safety,” “ALPR,” “LPR,” “license plate reader,” “camera network,” and “surveillance technology.” Confirm that the document names the relevant agency. A county contract may cover the sheriff but not city police; a city purchase may cover cameras on public roads without giving the county access.

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Interpret dates and status carefully

An old approval proves that a purchase or agreement was authorized at that time, not that cameras remain active. Look for the contract term, renewal clauses, latest invoice, current budget line, and any notice of suspension or termination. If a record says equipment is planned, distinguish planned installation from an operating system. If a renewal is pending, describe the status as uncertain rather than active.

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Step 3: Use transparency directories only as leads

A public directory can save time by pointing you toward an agency’s transparency page. Flock Transparency describes a “verified report” as a link to a published transparency page. That makes the directory useful for discovery, but it is not a complete government register.

If the directory returns “no verified report,” the narrow meaning is that no report was found in that directory. It does not establish that the agency has no cameras, that a contract has ended, or that the agency cannot search another organization’s system. Verify every lead against the agency’s website, current contract records, or a written response.

Third-party maps and crowd-sourced camera lists have the same limitation. They may show a nearby device without identifying the operator, installation date, or current operating status. Use them to generate questions, never as your final proof.

Step 4: Ask the agency directly

Send a focused question to the police department’s public information officer, records unit, or sheriff’s communications office. Ask for a written response and identify the date on which you asked. A direct answer can resolve whether a program is active even when a portal is incomplete.

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Questions that establish the program’s scope

  • Does this agency currently use Flock Safety cameras or another ALPR system?
  • Is the program active, paused, planned, or ended?
  • Which agency or organization operates each system, and how many cameras are currently deployed?
  • What dates do the records and status statement cover?
  • Do the records describe city, county, campus, state, or privately owned cameras?

Questions about rules and accountability

  • What written policy governs searches, approvals, prohibited uses, and supervisor review?
  • How long are plate reads and associated images retained under the current policy and applicable law?
  • Which outside agencies can search or receive this agency’s data?
  • What agreements govern regional or cross-agency sharing?
  • Are camera locations, contracts, audit reports, usage reports, or access logs publicly available?

Ask for the policy’s revision date. If the answer refers to a vendor-wide feature or default, request the local rule that actually governs the agency.

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Step 5: File a public-records request when necessary

If the agency does not answer or the website leaves key facts unresolved, submit a request under the applicable state or local public-records law. Address it to the government records officer named on the agency or clerk’s website. Requirements, exemptions, fees, deadlines, and appeal procedures vary by jurisdiction.

A practical request template

Subject: Public-records request — Flock Safety and ALPR records

Request current and prior Flock Safety or ALPR contracts, purchase and renewal records, invoices, the governing policy, retention schedule, audit reports, and data-sharing or access agreements. You can also request a current camera inventory or locations “to the extent releasable.” That wording acknowledges that some jurisdictions restrict precise locations for security or privacy reasons.

Ask for records covering a defined period, such as the current contract term and the previous renewal. A narrow date range is easier for staff to process and makes the answer easier to interpret. Request electronic copies when available and ask the agency to identify any exemption it applies to a withheld record.

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What a request may not produce

Public-records laws do not guarantee disclosure of every document. Agencies may withhold investigative information, security-sensitive locations, personal information, or records covered by a statutory exemption. A denial should identify the legal basis and any appeal route; it does not automatically prove that no records exist. Separate a refusal to disclose a record from a statement that the record does not exist.

How to distinguish local practice from vendor descriptions

Flock says its systems log searches and that customers control access. It also says customers may choose to share data through a broader network. Those are vendor descriptions, not proof of what a particular department permits. The local policy, signed agreements, access list, and agency response determine whether those controls apply in your jurisdiction.

Flock’s FAQ currently describes a seven-day default retention period and says different periods may be required by state or municipal law. Do not report seven days as a universal rule. Find the retention period in the agency’s policy and note its effective date. If the policy allows preservation of data linked to a case, ask how that exception is approved and how long the preserved material remains available.

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The Associated Press reported that Flock announced a seven-day standard retention window, case-linked preservation, and changes involving audit tools and case codes. The report described these as announced requirements with future implementation timing. Confirm the current local policy and vendor documentation before saying that a change has been implemented by your department.

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How to evaluate evidence when records conflict

Evidence What it can establish What it cannot establish alone
Current agency page naming Flock and linking a policy or portal The agency publicly identifies a Flock deployment at the time of publication. That every listed camera is online, or that the program has not changed since the page was posted.
Signed contract, current invoice, or renewal That an agreement or purchase exists for the named agency and period. That all equipment has been installed or is actively recording.
Council approval or budget authorization That officials authorized spending or a program at a particular time. That the system is still funded, active, or operated by the same agency.
Transparency-directory listing That the directory found a link to a published transparency report. That an unlisted agency has no cameras or that the listing is current.
Camera seen in a neighborhood or on a third-party map That a device may be present at a location. Who owns it, what vendor it uses, whether it is active, or which agency can search it.
General ALPR policy without a vendor name That the agency has rules addressing ALPR or similar technology. That the agency currently uses Flock specifically.

When two records disagree, prefer the most recent official record that identifies the agency and status. Contact the records officer about the discrepancy and preserve copies of the documents you relied on.

Compare multiple agencies or systems consistently

If your area has city police, a county sheriff, campus police, or a regional task force, build a comparison using the same fields. This prevents a detailed city report from being mistaken for proof about neighboring jurisdictions.

Comparison field What to record
Operator and jurisdiction The agency or organization that owns, operates, or controls the account.
Vendor and system type Flock Safety or another ALPR provider; note whether the record covers fixed cameras, mobile units, or both if stated.
Status Active, paused, ended, planned, or unclear, with the date of the statement.
Deployment Installation date, camera count, and locations only to the level lawfully released.
Retention The period in the current local policy, including any case-preservation exception.
Outside access Named agencies, network participation, and agreements governing searches or sharing.
Public accountability Availability of policy, contract, audit, usage, and transparency reports.

Write “not stated” when a record does not provide a value. Do not infer a camera count, retention period, or access list from a neighboring agency’s documents.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Assuming no webpage means no cameras

Small agencies may publish little online, and a portal can be delayed or incomplete. Move to council records, contracts, and a direct request instead of treating silence as a negative answer.

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Confusing a nearby camera with your police department’s system

Jurisdiction lines are easy to miss on regional roads. Identify the operator in the contract or agency response before attributing a camera to local police.

Treating a vendor default as local law

Vendor FAQs describe product practices. Local retention, search approval, audit, and sharing rules may be stricter, longer, or otherwise different.

Using an outdated approval as proof of current operation

Check renewal, invoice, installation, and termination records. State the date of the evidence in your notes and in any report you publish.

Requesting only camera locations

Locations do not answer who can search the data or how long records remain available. Request the policy, retention schedule, access agreements, and audit records as well.

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Expecting every record to be released

Ask for segregable portions and the legal basis for any redaction. A partial response can still establish the vendor, contract term, or policy date.

A concise verification checklist

  1. Search the official police and sheriff sites using Flock and generic ALPR terms.
  2. Save the agency page, policy, portal, and publication or revision dates.
  3. Search council agendas, budgets, procurement files, contracts, renewals, and invoices.
  4. Use a transparency directory as a lead, not as a definitive register.
  5. Ask the agency whether the system is active, paused, or ended and which organization operates it.
  6. Ask separately about retention, search approvals, audits, outside access, and sharing agreements.
  7. Submit a narrowly dated public-records request for missing contracts, policies, inventories, and audits.
  8. Record the jurisdiction, date, source, and limits of every conclusion.

The strongest answer will read like this: “As of [date], [agency] states that it operates [vendor/system]. Its current policy says [retention and access rules], and its contract covers [period]. Camera locations or counts are [publicly listed/not stated/partly withheld].” That format makes clear what is established and what remains unknown.

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