Flock mandates case numbers and audits for 120000 ALPR cameras after WaPo documents 46 abuse cases

Flock announced the policy shift on 13 August 2026 after the Washington Post documented 46 incidents of officers using the system for stalking or personal queries. The firm is expanding a feature first offered optionally in 2025 that blocks searches lacking a case identifier and routes flagged activity to department administrators. Departments retain discretion to retain data beyond the recommended seven-day window and to set purpose-based sharing rules that still rely on officers self-reporting intent.

Washington Post records and an ACLU audit of Oregon and other departments show officers previously bypassed reason prompts with entries such as “investigation” or “hehehe.” Flock’s new audit tool lacks published accuracy metrics or third-party evaluation, leaving the same verification gap intact. NPR reported at least 30 contract cancellations in the prior year while DeFlock tracked a higher figure; several jurisdictions have enacted outright bans on automatic license-plate readers.

The changes address only downstream access controls rather than the underlying collection scale that enables bulk location tracking without individualized suspicion. Chad Marlow of the ACLU noted the core issue is the absence of probable-cause thresholds before querying the nationwide dataset. Agencies can still override the seven-day retention suggestion and neighboring departments retain broad search latitude once a purpose category is selected.

Axon and Motorola Solutions are positioned to capture agencies seeking alternatives; at least five states have introduced legislation to restrict or prohibit ALPR networks in the current session. Independent verification of the audit tool’s false-negative rate will determine whether the safeguards reduce abuse or merely document it after the fact.