The Los Angeles Police Department on Saturday stopped working with a surveillance technology company over concerns about the use of the data, according to an LAPD official.
Flock Safety operates cameras placed on 138 poles in Los Angeles, allowing authorities to track vehicles reported stolen or registered to known fugitives. It is one of a handful of dealers used by the city to read automatic license plates.
Herd has been criticized for providing information used to help President Trump's crackdown on immigration. In late May, LA City Council Member Ysabel Jurado introduced a motion asking the Board of Police Commissioners to “refrain from entering into any Memorandum of Understanding, Contracts, or other Agreements, or implementing any screening programs with Flock Safety or their affiliates.”
Dean Gialamas, the LAPD's chief of information, told multiple news outlets that the LAPD wants more security around the information the agency collects.
“The concrete thing is about having very clear policies about who owns the data, what happens to the data once they've collected it,” said Gialamas.
He said the LAPD will stop using Flock “until we address those data, privacy, security and sharing concerns with contractual relationships.”
The LAPD signed a three-year contract with Flock through July 2023 that was set to expire Saturday.
Earlier, LAPD officials announced that the Los Angeles city attorney's office is working on a new contract. It is not clear where that process is given by Gialamas' announcement.
An LAPD spokeswoman declined to comment Saturday.
A spokesman for Flock on Saturday called the LAPD's decision “a miracle.”
“We hope that through ongoing discussions with the LAPD, we can clear up the misconceptions that have led to today's disappointing break,” the spokesperson said. “We hope to resume a successful relationship with the department in the near future.”
A spokesperson said the LAPD has used license plate-reading technology for years, and Flock's position is that the technology should have “strong privacy protections” and oversight.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Flock said it contracts with about 5,000 law enforcement agencies across the country and that its technology complies with California law that limits what information can be shared with federal authorities.
Reports that Flock shared license plate data with federal authorities, including US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, led small cities across the country to end their relationships with the company.
Protesters have demonstrated in recent months outside LAPD headquarters in downtown LA against pressure from Flock and its supporters at the Bureau of Street Lighting to speed up the installation of reader plates on light poles.
The LAPD's automated license-reading program includes 248 pole-mounted cameras, 140 cameras mounted on the roofs of police vehicles, 1,500 cameras mounted inside police vehicles and seven trailer cameras, according to an LAPD Inspector General report released Friday.
Inspector General Matthew Barragan recommended in the audit that the department halt the deployment of any new automatic license plate readers, known as ALPRs, and the execution of new contracts.
Any new contracts must go through the Board of Police Commissioners, regardless of whether the deal includes a financial exchange, according to the report.
“Contracts or agreements will establish mandatory requirements governing data security, confidentiality, access control, storage and auditing to protect ALPR Department data and ensure accountability in its collection, use and disclosure,” the report said.
Three vendors, including Flock, provide related technology and services, according to the report.
“However, the department does not have formal contracts or agreements that must deal with all services [automatic license plate reader] data security, privacy, and access control requirements,” the report said.
Barragan's office conducted a review of the police department's use of automatic license plate scanners over a two-month period from August to September 2025.
Hamid Khan, who is the organizer of the privacy organization Stop LAPD Spying, said that his organization has been appearing at police commission meetings to complain about Flock since the beginning of 2025.
He asked why the department is now stopping using this technology.
“Our request is that they should stop using license plate reading books and not discuss a new contract at all,” he said.
Stop LAPD Spying sued the city in May for agreements with Flock, prompting the LAPD to turn over some documents.
Times staff writer Libor Jany contributed to this report.
