Frequently Asked Questions
What's Detected
Vehicles, License Plates
What's Not Detected
Facial recognition, People, Gender, Race
Acceptable Use Policy
Data is used for law enforcement purposes only. Data is owned by Elk Grove PD and is never sold to 3rd parties.
Prohibited Uses
Immigration enforcement, traffic enforcement, harassment or intimidation, usage based solely on a protected class (i.e. race, sex, religion), Personal use. In addition, California agencies cannot run or generate results for searches regarding immigration or reproductive care.
Access Policy
Members approved to access ALPR data under these guidelines are permitted to access the data for legitimate law enforcement purposes only, such as when the data relates to a specific criminal investigation or department-related civil or administrative action. When applicable, members are directed to reference related case or event number and/or crime code. This data is regularly audited every 90 davs.
Hotlist Policy
Hotlist hits are required to be human verified prior to action.
Data retention
30 days
Number of owned cameras
90
External agencies who EGPD shares ALPR data with
Alhambra CA PD
Arcadia CA PD
Benicia CA PD
Brisbane CA PD
Central Marin CA PD
Chino CA PD
Chula Vista CA PD
Citrus Heights CA PD
Colma CA PD
Dixon CA PD
El Cajon CA PD
Fairfield CA PD
Folsom CA PD
Fort Bragg CA PD
Galt CA PD
Grass Valley CA PD
Grover Beach CA PD
Hemet CA PD
Hercules CA PD
La Habra CA PD
Laguna Beach CA PD
Lake County CA SO
Lakeport CA PD
Livermore CA PD
Los Alamitos PD CA
Manteca CA PD
Menifee CA PD
Merced County CA SO
Mill Valley CA PD
Monterey County CA SO
Napa CA PD
Napa County CA SO
Nevada County CA SO
Newark CA PD
Oakley CA PD
Orange County (CA) DA Office
Palm Springs CA PD
Palo Alto CA PD
Rio Hondo College PD CA
Riverside County CA District Attorney
Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety (CA)
Roseville CA PD
Sacramento CA DA
Sacramento CA PD
Sacramento County CA SO
San Francisco CA PD
San Joaquin CA DA
San Mateo CA PD
San Pablo CA PD
Santa Ana CA PD
Santa Rosa CA PD
Seal Beach CA PD
Seaside CA PD
Solano County CA SO
Suisun City CA PD
Tracy CA PD
Turlock CA PD
Upland CA PD
Vacaville CA PD
Walnut Creek CA PD
West Covina CA PD
West Sacramento CA PD
Yolo County CA SO
Yuba County Sheriffs Office
Myth Busters and Facts
Was a Flock camera hacked in 2025?
A: No, no customer or police data was compromised. A researcher in a bug bounty program accessed a single camera that had never been deployed, was not configured, and was not connected to Flock’s cloud system.
Were Flock PTZ (Condor) cameras hacked in 2026?
A: No, a cellular carrier partner mistakenly moved a few cameras to a public network, making them discoverable online. However, this did not allow access to Flock’s cloud environment, and the issue was quickly corrected. EGPD does not use PTZ/Condor cameras.
Do Flock systems “lack integrity”?
A: Flock operates under nationally recognized security and compliance standards, including CJIS/ACE Insights, FedRAMP 20X, and NDAA compliance—requirements for doing business with California law enforcement agencies.
Can Flock access or share EGPD’s ALPR data without permission?
A: No, Flock customers—including EGPD—own and fully control access to all ALPR data. There are no “backdoors” or secret access tools. EGPD ALPR administrators actively monitor changes to ensure proper governance. The State Auditor released the ALPR report in Feb 2020 (Report 2019-118) and following this audit report California DOJ put out the guidance in October 2023. EGPD updated policies immediately following that guidance.
Does EGPD share ALPR data with ICE or other federal immigration agencies?
A: No, EGPD does not share ALPR data with ICE, Homeland Security, or other federal immigration enforcement agencies.
Does Flock require multi-factor authentication (MFA)?
A: Yes, Flock made MFA the default for accounts in November 2024, and EGPD enabled MFA in early 2025.
Is Flock sharing data out of state in violation of California law (SB 34)?
A: No, Flock customers control all data access, including any data sharing. Early ALPR practices statewide (2018–2023) lacked clarity, and the State Auditor released the ALPR report in Feb 2020 (Report 2019-118) and following this audit report the California DOJ put out the guidance in October 2023. EGPD updated policies immediately following that guidance.
Summary
EGPD’s review shows that recent online claims about Flock ALPR systems are largely inaccurate, outdated, or relate to isolated incidents that did not involve customer or police data. EGPD continues to follow state law, DOJ guidance, and best practices to ensure responsible operation of ALPR technology.
ALPR Overview and Facts
463.1 Purpose and Scope
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance for the capture, storage and use of digital data obtained through the use of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology.
462.2 Administration
The ALPR technology, also known as License Plate Recognition (LPR), allows for the automated detection of license plates. It is used by the Elk Grove Police Department to convert data associated with vehicle license plates for official law enforcement purposes.
All installation and maintenance of ALPR equipment, as well as ALPR data retention and access, shall be managed by the Chief of Police or authorized designee. The Chief of Police or authorized designee will assign members under his/her command to administer the day-to-day operation of the ALPR equipment and data.
462.2.1 ALPR Administration
The Chief of Police or authorized designee shall be responsible for developing guidelines and procedures to comply with the requirements of Civil Code §; 1798.90.5 et seq. This includes, but is not limited to (Civil Code §; 1798.90.51; Civil Code §; 1798.90.53):
A description of the job title or other designation of the members and independent contractors who are authorized to use or access the ALPR system or to collect ALPR information.
Training requirements for authorized users.
A description of how the ALPR system will be monitored to ensure the security of the information and compliance with applicable privacy laws.
(d) Procedures for system operators to maintain records of access in compliance with Civil Code §; 1798.90.52.
(e) The title and name of the current designee in overseeing the ALPR operation.
(f) Working with the Custodian of Records on the retention and destruction of ALPR data.
(g) Ensuring this policy and related procedures are conspicuously posted on the department's website.
462.3 Operations
Use of an ALPR is restricted to the purposes outlined below. Department members shall not use, or allow others to use the equipment or database records for any unauthorized purpose (Civil Code § 1798.90.51; Civil Code § 1798.90.53).
An ALPR shall only be used for official law enforcement business.
An ALPR may be used in conjunction with any routine patrol operation or criminal investigation. Reasonable suspicion or probable cause is not required before using an ALPR.
While an ALPR may be used to canvass license plates around any crime scene, particular consideration should be given to using ALPR-equipped cars to canvass areas around homicides, shootings and other major incidents. Partial license plates reported during major crimes should be entered into the ALPR system in an attempt to identify suspect vehicles.
(d) No member of this department shall operate ALPR equipment or access ALPR data without first completing department-approved training.
(e) No ALPR operator may access department, state or federal data unless otherwise authorized to do so.
(f) If practicable, the officer should verify an ALPR response through the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) before taking enforcement action that is based solely on an ALPR alert.
462.4 Data Collection and Retention
The Chief of Police or authorized designee is responsible for ensuring systems and processes are in place for the proper collection and retention of ALPR data. Data will be transferred from vehicles to the designated storage in accordance with department procedures. All ALPR data downloaded to the server should be stored for a minimum of one year (Government Code §; 34090.6) and in accordance with the established records retention schedule. Thereafter, ALPR data should be purged unless it has become, or it is reasonable to believe it will become, evidence in a criminal or civil action or is subject to a discovery request or other lawful action to produce records. In those circumstances the applicable data should be downloaded from the server onto portable media and booked into evidence.
462.5 Accountability
All data will be closely safeguarded and protected by both procedural and technological means. The Elk Grove Police Department will observe the following safeguards regarding access to and use of stored data (Civil Code §; 1798.90.51; Civil Code §; 1798.90.53):
All ALPR data downloaded to the mobile workstation and in storage shall be accessible only through a login/password-protected system capable of documenting all access of information by name, date and time (Civil Code §; 1798.90.52).
Members approved to access ALPR data under these guidelines are permitted to access the data for legitimate law enforcement purposes only, such as when the data relate to a specific criminal investigation or department-related civil or administrative action.
ALPR system audits should be conducted on a regular basis.
For security or data breaches, see the Records Release and Maintenance Policy.
462.6 Policy
The policy of the Elk Grove Police Department is to utilize ALPR technology to capture and store digital license plate data and images while recognizing the established privacy rights of the public. All data and images gathered by the ALPR are for the official use of this department. Because such data may contain confidential information, it is not open to public review.
462.7 Releasing ALPR Data
The ALPR data may be shared only with other law enforcement or prosecutorial agencies for official law enforcement purposes or as otherwise permitted by law, using the following procedures:
The agency makes a written request for the ALPR data that includes:
The name of the agency.
The name of the person requesting.
The intended purpose of obtaining the information.
The request is reviewed by the Chief of Police or authorized designee and approved before the request is fulfilled.
The approved request is retained on file.
Requests for ALPR data by non-law enforcement or non-prosecutorial agencies will be processed as provided in the Records Maintenance and Release Policy (Civil Code §; 1798.90.55).
463.8 Training
The Training Sergeant should ensure that members receive department-approved training for those authorized to use or access the ALPR system (Civil Code §; 1798.90.51; Civil Code §;1798.90.53).