Overview
- A presentation obtained this week shows Flock proposed a Nexar partnership to use about 350,000 Uber, Lyft and delivery dashcams to scan license plates on the move, a plan the company says was never implemented.
- Flock already operates a large network of pole‑mounted automated license‑plate readers and reports default data deletion after 30 days unless a partner sets a different retention period.
- Independent audits and reporting have found frequent false alerts and cases where officers used the system improperly to track people, and those errors have contributed to high‑risk stops in at least one reported case where an outdated alert led police to detain vehicle occupants at gunpoint.
- Public backlash has grown fast, with more than 70 municipalities ending or pausing ties to Flock, activists building open maps of cameras, and some people vandalizing devices to disable the network.
- Elected officials, prosecutors and watchdogs are calling for pauses, new procurement and audit rules, and legislation to limit access and retention of ALPR data while multiple local criminal inquiries into misuse remain open.