How to Find Out If Your Town Has a Flock Safety Contract

Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) made by Flock Safety have spread quietly into thousands of communities, often without much public debate. If you’re wondering whether your own town has signed on, the good news is that this information is almost always a matter of public record. Here’s how to track it down yourself.

Start With the Public Map

Before digging through paperwork, check /the-map/, a crowdsourced map of known ALPR camera locations across the country. If cameras have already been spotted and logged near you, that’s a strong sign your town has a contract. If your area isn’t listed, it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no contract yet—it may just mean no one has documented it.

Check City Council Agendas and Minutes

Most local governments post council meeting agendas, minutes, and video recordings online, usually on the city or county’s official website. Search these archives for terms like “Flock,” “ALPR,” “license plate reader,” or “automated license plate recognition.” Contracts of any significant dollar amount typically require a council vote, which means there’s a paper trail—often including a staff report explaining why the technology was requested.

Look at the Police Department Budget

Municipal and county budgets are public documents, usually published annually as PDFs on a finance department’s webpage. Flock Safety contracts are typically billed as an annual subscription rather than a one-time purchase, so look for recurring line items under the police department’s technology, public safety, or capital equipment budget. The vendor name may appear directly, or it may show up under a broader category like “camera systems” or “investigative tools.”

Search State and Local Contract Databases

Many states and larger cities maintain searchable databases of vendor contracts, sometimes called a “checkbook,” “transparency portal,” or “open data” site. These let you search by vendor name. Typing “Flock Safety” or “Flock Group Inc.” (the company’s legal name) into one of these portals can surface active contracts, purchase orders, or invoices.

File a Public Records Request

If you can’t find anything through informal searching, a public records request is the most reliable method. Every state has some version of a public records law—often called a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or Sunshine Law—that gives residents the right to request government documents, including vendor contracts. You can typically submit a request to your local police department or city clerk’s office asking for:

Any current or past contracts, purchase orders, or invoices with Flock Safety or Flock Group Inc.; any policies governing ALPR data use, retention, or sharing; and any council resolutions or staff reports related to ALPR procurement.

Requests can usually be submitted by email or through an online portal, and agencies are legally required to respond within a set timeframe, though extensions are common. For a deeper walkthrough of writing effective records requests, see /learn/.

Ask Directly

Sometimes the simplest approach works: call or email your local police department’s public information office and ask whether they use Flock Safety cameras. Many departments are open about having the technology, even if they haven’t publicized it widely, since they view it as a crime-deterrence tool rather than a secret program.

Check for Regional or Multi-Agency Agreements

In some cases, a single county sheriff’s office or regional task force holds the contract, and multiple smaller towns access the same camera network through data-sharing agreements. If your town’s own budget shows nothing, check neighboring county or regional law enforcement bodies, since your local police may still have query access to their system.

What to Do With What You Find

Once you’ve confirmed whether your town has a contract, that information becomes the foundation for informed civic engagement. You can compare notes with neighbors, request the department’s data retention and sharing policies, or bring questions to a public meeting. If you want to organize with others in your area, visit /chapters/, and if you’re ready to push for changes in how the technology is used, see /take-action/.

Transparency starts with a paper trail—and in nearly every case, that trail is there for anyone willing to look.