Who else can search your city’s data.

Cumulative federal-access timeline through August 2026

A policy tracker compiles the sequence: ICE conducting 4,000+ lookups through local agencies without its own contract (May 2025); an ATF analyst improperly accessing Richmond, VA's system for an immigration investigation (July 2025); Flock pausing all federal pilots (Aug 2025); Virginia reporting nearly 3,000 immigration-term searches on its statewide network in 12 months (Oct 2025); University of Washington researchers documenting "front door, back door, side door" federal access across at least 18 Washington agencies (Oct 2025); Woodburn, OR suspending Flock (Nov 2025); reporting that police used school district security cameras equipped with Flock technology for immigration enforcement (Feb 2026); and more than 50 cities and counties terminating Flock contracts by mid-2026, over 20 in July alone.

Source · Immigration Policy Tracking Project · read it

Counterpoint: Columbus, Ohio audit found zero ICE searches but thousands by other federal agencies

An audit released ahead of a City Council hearing found ICE ran zero searches on Columbus PD's Flock network, while U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations ran 3,962 searches, 657 of which were identified as possibly immigration-related. Of roughly 19.7 million total searches, 15,577 (under 0.1%) appeared immigration-related. After filters were added in late 2025, January–June 2026 showed zero immigration-related federal searches. CPD ended data-sharing with 287(g) agencies.

Technology like Flock can be an important tool for solving violent crime,

— Councilmember Emmanuel Remy

The other side This audit cuts the other way on ICE specifically, and is included for that reason.

Source · ABC 6 (WSYX) · read it

San Francisco PD audit: 299 illegal inquiries; DEA, IRS, US Marshals, Forest Service, two state police agencies

An SFPD internal audit presented to the Police Commission found 299 illegal inquiries into the department's Flock network over one year. Chief Derrick Lew said the accessing agencies did not include ICE or DHS directly but did include the DEA, IRS, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Forest Service, and Idaho and Oregon state police. He shut off access from the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center. The city's Human Rights Commission and Department of Police Accountability are investigating. This followed the earlier finding that out-of-state agencies had queried SFPD Flock data 1.6 million times.

As helpful as the Flock cameras have been for the department, they have also caused immediate concern.

— SFPD Chief Derrick Lew

The other side The chief said the accessing agencies did not include ICE or DHS directly, and shut off access from the regional intelligence centre.

Source · Mission Local · read it

EFF: agencies subscribed to ICE's "Immigration Violator" hotlist through Flock

EFF filed records requests to determine which agencies subscribed to ICE's NCIC "Immigration Violator File" hotlist through their Flock systems. Blue Island PD (IL) and Sparks PD (NV) had it enabled; eleven other studied agencies had it disabled. Sparks had it on despite its own written policy listing immigration enforcement as a prohibited use. EFF published a records-request template.

vehicle and/or license data may be included

— The NCIC operator manual, describing the Immigration Violator File

The other side Eleven of the thirteen agencies studied had the hotlist disabled. One of the two that had it enabled had its own written policy listing immigration enforcement as a prohibited use.

Source · EFF · read it

Mountain View, CA: 17 months of federal access the department did not know about; contract terminated

More than 250 California agencies accessed Mountain View's Flock data without authorization, and federal entities (reported as ATF, Air Force and GSA Inspector General) accessed it during a three-month window in late 2024 while a "national lookup" setting was on. The chief said Flock enabled the setting without notifying the department and did not tell it when the setting was turned off. He disabled all 30 cameras; council voted unanimously to terminate. Santa Cruz and Los Altos Hills terminated in January 2026; Santa Clara County voted 3-2 on Feb 25 to bar Flock.

Flock turned that setting on without notifying Mountain View police, and did not tell the department when it was turned off.

— Chief Mike Canfield

The other side The chief said he no longer had confidence in the vendor. Council voted unanimously to terminate.

Source · Mountain View Voice · read it

279 federal immigration queries in the system's first three weeks — from a default setting

A city discovered that federal immigration queries had reached its data within three weeks of the system going live, through a sharing setting that was enabled by default rather than by any decision the city made.

Directly relevant to the written question each Northwest Arkansas city is being asked: produce every network membership and sharing setting, and state which were enabled by default.

The other side Flock's standing position is that sharing with federal agencies is disabled by default and that immigration enforcement has no direct access to its cameras, systems or data.

Source · See resources, 2026 · read it

EFF: 50+ agencies ran protest-related Flock searches

EFF analyzed 10 months of Flock search data and identified more than 50 federal, state, and local agencies that ran searches tied to protests, including "No Kings," "Hands Off!," and 50501 demonstrations. In some cases searches targeted specific activist groups.

The other side Flock did not respond to a request for comment.

Source · The Record (Recorded Future News) · read it

EFF: 12 million searches analyzed — protest surveillance and ethnic-slur search terms

EFF analyzed more than 12 million Flock searches logged by 3,900+ agencies between December 2024 and October 2025. It identified 50+ federal, state and local agencies running hundreds of protest-related searches, with reasons logged as "protest," "no kings," "KINGS DAY PROTEST," "DxE Protest Suspect Vehicle," "ATL No Kings Protest." Named examples: Tulsa PD (38+ searches), Spokane County SO (3 searches, June 15), Beaumont PD, TX (6 searches, June 14), San Bernardino County SO (searches across 711 networks). Separately, EFF found 80+ agencies running hundreds of searches using anti-Romani slurs and stereotypes, including Grand Prairie PD, TX six times using Flock's Convoy feature. EFF also documented that a single abortion-related Texas query "probed 6,809 networks, accessing 83,345 cameras."

the only reason an officer is able to even search for a suspect at a protest is because ALPRs collected data on every single person who attended the protest.

— Electronic Frontier Foundation

The other side One named department said it does not use the system to investigate individuals exercising their First Amendment rights.

Source · EFF · read it

University of Washington report: "front door," "back door," and "side door" federal access in Washington State

The UW Center for Human Rights documented three access paths: at least 8 Washington agencies explicitly enabled sharing with U.S. Border Patrol; Border Patrol ran thousands of searches on data from at least 10 additional agencies that had not authorized it (May–August 2025); and local agencies, including Yakima County Sheriff's Office, ran searches listing "ICE" as the reason. The Keep Washington Working Act (RCW 10.93.160) restricts local resources for civil immigration enforcement.

It is a local decision. Not my decision, and not Flock's decision.

— Flock's chief executive, quoted in the report

The other side Flock's position, quoted in the report: data-sharing is a local decision.

Source · UW Center for Human Rights (Jackson School) · read it

Virginia network searched ~3,000 times for immigration purposes in 12 months

A Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism analysis found Virginia's Flock network was searched nearly 3,000 times using terms such as "ICE," "ERO," "immigration," and "deportee" over a 12-month period, with roughly 90% of those searches originating from out-of-state agencies. Charlottesville and later Richmond cut off federal access after the reporting.

Once we got that information in Charlottesville, we shut our system out for everyone.

— Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis

The other side Warren County said it stopped sharing after July 1. Charlottesville and Richmond cut off federal access after the reporting.

Source · VPM / Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism · read it

Court records contradicted the "missing person" explanation for the Texas search

EFF obtained the lead detective's affidavit and incident reports. The affidavit described a "death investigation" of a "non-viable fetus," said deputies collected photographic evidence from the woman's partner, and said deputies consulted prosecutors about charging the woman for "taking the pill to cause the abortion or miscarriage." Flock and Sheriff King had publicly described the search as a missing-persons/welfare matter.

Her family was worried that she was going to bleed to death, and we were trying to find her to get her to a hospital.

— Sheriff Adam King, before the records surfaced

The other side Flock and the sheriff had publicly described the search as a missing-persons matter.

Source · Electronic Frontier Foundation · read it

California Attorney General sued El Cajon over out-of-state ALPR sharing

AG Rob Bonta sued the City of El Cajon alleging it knowingly and repeatedly shared ALPR data with law enforcement agencies in 27 other states in violation of SB 34, which bars sharing ALPR data with federal and out-of-state agencies.

When information about Californians leaves the state, we no longer have any say over how it is used or shared.

— Attorney General Rob Bonta

The other side These are allegations in a pending civil action. El Cajon has contested the Attorney General's interpretation.

Source · California Office of the Attorney General · read it

CBP had search access to more than 80,000 Flock cameras through an undisclosed pilot

Records from three police departments showed U.S. Customs and Border Protection regularly searched more than 80,000 Flock cameras through a pilot program. At least one department said it did not know it was sharing access with CBP. Flock had characterized federal arrangements as limited "one-to-one" pilots.

The other side Flock said it had paused all federal pilots. CBP did not respond.

Source · 404 Media · read it

State audit found plate data shared in violation of state law

An audit by the Illinois Secretary of State found that plate reader data had been shared in ways that violated the state's law restricting such sharing, including with federal agencies. A follow-up release identified a specific department that had shared data with federal border authorities.

Source · NPR Illinois; NBC Chicago, August–September 2025 · read it

Members of Congress opened an inquiry into the company's data practices

Following reporting on nationwide lookups through the vendor's networks, members of Congress demanded records from the company. Separately, two senators asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the company's cybersecurity practices. The company subsequently changed parts of its national lookup practices.

Source · 404 Media, August 8, 2025 · read it

Oak Park, Illinois — terminated over federal access conflicting with its sanctuary ordinance

Oak Park’s board terminated its Flock contract after learning federal immigration agents could access village plate data, which the village viewed as conflicting with its sanctuary ordinance.

This is what democracy looks like. So I do hope other communities will look at this conversation.

— Trustee Brian Straw

The other side Flock's CEO said the company communicated poorly and did not create distinct permissions and protocols in its system.

Source · Wednesday Journal (Oak Park) · read it

California agencies continued federal ALPR sharing after AG warnings

Reporting found agencies continued federally-labeled searches after receiving state warning letters: Riverside County Sheriff was warned in March 2025 for sharing with the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service and continued FBI-related searches through May 2025; Sacramento County Sheriff, warned June 2024, continued searches labeled "DEA Assist" and "ATF" through June 2025; SFPD made over 100 searches of Oakland's system marked federally related; CHP ran an April search across 845 ALPR systems labeled "ICE case."

Somebody needs to be made an example of … Until somebody drops the hammer on them, I don't think they're going to change.

— Brian Hofer, Secure Justice

The other side Riverside County denied violating the statute. Oakland PD called the reporting misleading. Flock said it rolled out features to flag immigration-related searches.

Source · The San Francisco Standard · read it

Illinois data used in the Texas abortion search; 262 immigration-related lookups of one village's data

Mount Prospect's Flock data was accessed by Johnson County, Texas, in the abortion investigation. Reporting also found Mount Prospect data was accessed in 262 immigration-related matters in early 2025. An Illinois law effective 2024 bars sharing ALPR data with out-of-state agencies for immigration- or abortion-related enforcement. The Illinois Secretary of State opened an audit.

I am tremendously upset that some law enforcement agencies who agreed to follow Illinois law … conducted illegal searches.

— Mount Prospect Police Chief Michael Eterno

The other side Mount Prospect denies intentional wrongdoing and says it opted out of the national lookup feature.

Source · Chicago Sun-Times · read it

A deputy searched more than 83,000 cameras nationwide for a woman who had an abortion

A sheriff's deputy ran a nationwide search covering more than 83,000 cameras to locate a woman who had a self-managed abortion, including cameras in states where abortion is legal. The sheriff initially said the search was made because the woman's family feared for her safety; records later obtained by a civil liberties organisation described the case differently.

You have this extraterritorial reach into other states, and Flock has decided to create a technology that breaks through the barriers, where police in one state can investigate what is a human right in another state because it is a crime in another.

— Kate Bertash, Digital Defense Fund

Source · 404 Media, May 29, 2025 · read it

ICE obtained informal access to Flock's network through local police lookups

404 Media obtained Flock search logs showing more than 4,000 nationwide lookups by state and local police recorded with reasons including "immigration," "ICE," "ICE+ERO," and "ICE WARRANT." ICE had no direct contract with Flock at the time; access came through requests routed via local agencies.

all of the lookups that explicitly list 'immigration' as their reason were made after Trump was inaugurated.

— 404 Media, from the search logs

Source · 404 Media · read it