The Fullerton Police Department is set to present an overview on Tuesday, Sept. 15, of the city’s use of automated license plate readers amidst public concerns over their use.
The presentation to the City Council will focus mainly on Fullerton PD’s contract with Flock Safety.
In a report to the council before Tuesday’s meeting, staff reported 19 Flock cameras currently in use, with equipment, software subscriptions and maintenance costing roughly $236,000, though the report did not specify what duration that amount covers.
The city first introduced automated license plate readers in 2007, using federal grant funding provided by the Urban Area Security Initiative, a program under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In 2019, Fullerton deployed their use as part of its downtown paid parking program, using Vigilant Solutions. The use of Flock cameras was first introduced in 2021, under former Fullerton Police Chief Robert Dunn.
Police say the system has helped officers recover 274 stolen vehicles and locate 18 missing persons.
According to the agency’s transparency portal, as of Monday, Sep. 14, the Flock network recorded 1,001,180 unique vehicles over the past 30 days and 4,976 hotlist hits.
Access to Fullerton Flock data is shared with more than 200 California agencies, while roughly 250 organizations share their systems with Fullerton. They include out-of-state agencies in Nevada and Arizona as well as private corporations such as shipping and insurance companies.
The presentation follows public comment at the council’s August meeting when several residents voiced concerns about transparency in Fullerton PD’s use of the automated readers without public input. “I didn’t know that they’re collecting data about literally everyone, even me, without my consent, without a warrant, to track me without even the slightest suspicion that I’ve committed a crime,” one resident said.
Fullerton PD says Flock cameras detect only license plates and vehicles, and does not use facial recognition or target people based on gender or race. Authorities say the data is used for law enforcement purposes only and never sold to third parties, with use for immigration and traffic enforcement prohibited.
The council meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.