The Los Angeles Police Department is suspending its partnership with Flock Safety, a surveillance technology company that operates license plate reading cameras for the department, over a disagreement regarding who controls the recorded footage, according to department officials. The suspension halts the use of some camera systems while contract negotiations continue.
Department Chief Information Officer Dean Gialamas told The Post that the department is halting ties with Flock Safety as both sides negotiate terms of their agreement. License plate readers are automated cameras that capture and record vehicle license plates, often used by law enforcement to track stolen vehicles, locate suspects, or investigate crimes. The technology has become increasingly common in cities across the United States.
What the Right Is Saying
Law enforcement advocates argue that delays in deploying crime-fighting technology due to contract disputes put public safety at risk. The National Police Association has argued that license plate readers serve as critical tools for recovering stolen vehicles, locating missing persons, and identifying suspects linked to crimes ranging from robbery to homicide.
Conservative commentators contend that prioritizing bureaucratic negotiations over operational tools hampers officers' ability to protect communities. Critics from this perspective suggest the dispute amounts to a contract management issue that should not interrupt existing public safety infrastructure, particularly in a city like Los Angeles where crime reduction remains a pressing concern for residents and local leaders.
What the Left Is Saying
Privacy advocates and civil liberties groups argue that control over surveillance footage must remain with government agencies rather than private companies to ensure public accountability. Organizations such as the ACLU of Southern California have long raised concerns about for-profit entities maintaining databases of Americans' movements, warning that commercial ownership of such data creates risks of misuse or unauthorized access.
Progressive critics say private vendors retaining control of footage means the public has no way to verify how the data is stored, who accesses it, or whether it might be sold to third parties. From this perspective, the LAPD's push for footage control represents a transparency victory, and any disruption in surveillance capabilities must be weighed against constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.
What the Numbers Show
License plate reader technology has expanded significantly across major U.S. cities over the past decade. According to a report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, more than 400 law enforcement agencies nationwide have deployed automated license plate readers. Flock Safety's systems are among the most widely adopted, with contracts in thousands of municipalities across the country.
The cameras can capture thousands of license plates per day per unit, creating massive databases of vehicle movement patterns. Research from the Georgetown Center on Privacy and Technology found that some law enforcement databases retain license plate data for five years or longer, raising questions about scope and duration of surveillance collection.
The Bottom Line
The LAPD's suspension of its Flock Safety contract highlights a growing tension between law enforcement agencies seeking to expand surveillance capabilities and concerns about who controls the vast amounts of data these systems generate. The outcome of negotiations could set precedents for how cities manage similar contracts with private surveillance vendors. Officials have not specified a timeline for resolving the dispute, meaning some license plate reading capabilities will be unavailable during negotiations. Both sides have indicated a desire to reach an agreement, though fundamental questions about data ownership and public accountability appear central to the ongoing discussions.