TITLE:
title
FLOCK SAFETY AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER (ALPR) REPORT AND PRESENTATION
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DEPARTMENT: POLICE DEPARTMENT
PRESENTED BY: JARED BARNES, POLICE LIEUTENANT
CONTACT INFORMATION: JARED BARNES POLICE LIEUTENANT, (714) 754-5125
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Based on the demonstrated success of the Costa Mesa Police Department's Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) program, staff recommends that the City Council approve the continued use of Flock Safety ALPR system.
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BACKGROUND:
In February of 2026, members of the Community expressed comments at City Council meetings regarding security breaches and misuse of the Flock Public Safety system. Based on the concerns expressed by members of the public, the Costa Mesa Police Department will address community concerns regarding the use of Flock technology and the safeguards in place to protect privacy.
Flock Safety Data Security Incidents: Several California agencies have reported data security incidents involving Flock Safety's ALPR system. In January 2026, Mountain View PD disclosed that a "national lookup" setting, enabled by Flock without the department's knowledge, allowed federal agencies (including ATF and Langley Air Force Base) to search its data between August and November 2024, while a separate "statewide lookup" setting resulted in roughly 600,000 unauthorized queries by about 250 California agencies over one year. Flock disabled the national lookup feature statewide in March 2025. In fall 2025, a public records request revealed that Santa Cruz PD's data had been accessed by out-of-state agencies lacking data-sharing agreements, a violation of California's ALPR Privacy Act, prompting Santa Cruz to terminate its Flock contract and Flock to further restrict audit record visibility. These incidents stemmed from a pre-March 2025 system design that allowed data-sharing settings to be enabled without agencies' full knowledge or consent. Flock's corrective actions were to disable ...
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