SFPD license plate data accessed on behalf of feds, out of state agencies, audit finds | KTVU
The short version: An audit found SFPD's Flock ALPR network was queried on behalf of federal and out-of-state agencies, despite local rules meant to wall off that data.
Our Take
San Francisco has some of the strictest rules in the country limiting how local police can cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and out-of-state agencies. KTVU's reporting shows those rules mean little when the underlying surveillance infrastructure is a shared, searchable network. Once SFPD plugs into Flock's system, the audit trail shows exactly what privacy advocates have warned about for years: a local tool becomes a backdoor for federal and out-of-state queries, policy promises notwithstanding.
This is the structural problem with ALPR networks like Flock's — they're built for sharing by default. A city council can pass all the sanctuary ordinances it wants, but if the cameras feed into a nationwide lookup system, enforcement of local limits depends entirely on audits catching violations after the fact, not on the technology preventing them in the first place. San Francisco residents were told their plate data would stay local. The audit says otherwise.
Credit to KTVU FOX 2 for digging into the audit logs instead of taking department assurances at face value — this is exactly the kind of accountability reporting this fight needs more of. If you want to see whether Flock cameras are watching your own streets, check our camera map, and if you want to push back on unchecked data sharing in your city, our take-action resources are a good place to start.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.