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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https://www.oxnard.gov/pd-news/news-release-oxnard-police-department-suspends-use-of-flock-safety-automated-license-plate-readers-02-27-26

#alpr #privacy #Oxnard #VenturaCounty

NEWS RELEASE - Oxnard Police Department Suspends Use of Flock Safety Automated License Plate Readers (02/27/26) | City of Oxnard

NEWS RELEASEDATE: February 27, 2026, 5:00 PM SUBJECT:Oxnard Police Department Suspends Use of Flock Safety                 Automated License Plate ReadersPREPARED BY:Jason Benites, Chief of PoliceCONTACT: Cody Collet, Investigative Services Bureau Commander(805) 385-7620 | [email protected] Oxnard Police Department (OPD) has suspended its operation of Flock…

City of Oxnard

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...."

(!!!!)

#ALPR #Flock #BigBrother #Privacy

"...Chief Benites added further, “Vendor-related failures of this nature erode our public trust of not just the technology, but the agency that uses it. The decision to suspend the use of Flock Safety fixed-position ALPR technology was made after thorough review and careful consideration. We regret that circumstances necessitated this action. Our action to take pause with this, and let our public know of the issue, reflects our commitment to transparency and our responsibility to safeguard the trust our community places in us.” ..."

(ps. someone at Oxnard PD needs to go cover up their cameras, because Flock or whoever else they let onto their network can STILL get all that data).

@ai6yr
…or release the cameras to
the #SmashFascism challenge…

@ai6yr interesting. VCSO just doubled down on Flock

https://local.nixle.com/alert/12225185/?sub_id=0

@kd6nfd @ai6yr Yes, while trying to claim the entire time that only VCSO has access to the information. Not impressed.
@ai6yr cops spying on cops spying on us