Northern California police chief suspends use of ALPR cameras after outside agencies access data
The police department in the Northern California city of Mountain View is suspending the use of automated license plate reader cameras after the discovery of unauthorized access to data by federal and state agencies, the police chief said on Monday.
In a letter to the community, Mountain View Police Chief Mike Canfield said he decided to turn off all Flock Safety ALPR cameras in the Silicon Valley hub because he no longer has confidence in the Flock system. Last week, it was disclosed that hundreds of federal and state law enforcement agencies had accessed the city's ALPR data without the department's knowledge.
"Like many of you, I was deeply disappointed to learn that Flock Safety did not meet the City's requirements regarding our data access control and transparency," Canfield stated in the letter. "The existence of access by out of state agencies, without the City's awareness, that circumvented the protections we purposefully built and believed were in place is frankly unacceptable to me and to the dedicated people of the MVPD."
On Jan. 30, the City of Mountain View said an audit of its ALPR system showed that the first ALPR camera deployed had been set to a "nationwide" setting by Flock Safety without MVPD's permission or knowledge. As a result, between August and November 2024, data from the camera was accessed by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offices in Kentucky and Nashville, TN; Langley Air Force Base in Virginia; the U.S. GSA Office of Inspector General; Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada; and an Ohio Air Force Base, according to the city, adding that it was unclear whether the searches resulted in license plate information being shared.
The audit also showed that a "statewide" search function was enabled on 29 of 30 cameras that were deployed, which was against protocols established for the pilot program, the city said. This function allowed Flock to enable access to state law enforcement agencies not approved by MVPD.
The statewide setting was immediately disabled on January 5 once the MVPD identified the issue, the city said.
"This is a system failure on Flock Safety's part," the city said in a statement last week. "MVPD has a policy and controls in place for the ALPR pilot. MVPD worked closely with Flock Safety during the outset of the program to design a model that strictly prohibited out-of-state data sharing and ensured that any agency receiving access to Mountain View's data was approved by the Police Chief or his designee."
Mountain View's first ALPR camera went online in August 2024, and the final camera was installed last month. Canfield said the suspension of the Flock camera system was effective immediately and would remain inactive until the City Council provides further direction about the future of the pilot program.
"I share your anger and frustration regarding how Flock Safety's system enabled out-of-state agencies to search our license plate data, and I am sorry that such searches occurred. I know how essential transparency is for maintaining trust and for community policing. This is why MVPD has been so open about what we learned and why we are pausing this program until our City Council can weigh in.
The City Council was anticipated to discuss the ALPR system at its February 24 meeting.
Canfield said that despite the unauthorized ALPR access, the cameras enhance community safety and have helped officers investigate burglaries, home break-ins, and a reported kidnapping. He added that his department was looking into alternative vendors with a stronger track record of data protection, oversight, and transparency.
In an emailed statement to CBS News Bay Area, Flock Safety spokesperson Holly Beilin said, "We are working through Mountain View's specific questions and concerns directly with the city, and will continue to engage with our partners in the Police Department and city government to resolve these issues. We look forward to resuming our successful partnership following the upcoming Council meeting."
The City of Mountain View said last week that Flock had assured the city that its systems had been improved and were no longer enabling access outside of the State of California.
California law prohibits any ALPR information from being sold, shared, or transferred to out-of-state or federal agencies without a court order or warrant issued by a California court. The American Civil Liberties Union has warned that ALPR cameras can infringe on civil rights and potentially violate the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment by facilitating unreasonable searches and pervasive surveillance.
A six-month investigation by CBS News showed more than a dozen cases of ALPR errors leading to incidents of wrongful stops or instances of the technology being abused.