East Palo Alto is taking a hard second look at its Flock automated license-plate readers after nearby cities reported that sensitive plate data was accessed far beyond what local officials thought they had signed up for. In a city with a largely immigrant population, residents and at least one council member say the new revelations are forcing an uncomfortable question: Are the crime-fighting benefits worth the privacy tradeoffs?
The renewed scrutiny follows a string of disclosures on the Peninsula. Mountain View shut off its Flock cameras after a local investigation and internal audit found that hundreds of agencies had searched its license-plate records and that a nationwide lookup setting had opened the door to out-of-state and federal searches. Police Chief Mike Canfield said the lapse shook his confidence in the vendor and paused the program while the city decides what to do next, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
In East Palo Alto, Councilmember Carlos Romero has pushed for a formal review of the city’s Flock pilot and a contract renewal that the council approved in December 2025. The council’s agenda-setting committee has now scheduled the issue for discussion, according to Palo Alto Online. City Manager Melvin Gaines has told staff that the city can still walk away from the agreement before it is executed while leaders gauge community concern.
How the local pilot works
East Palo Alto’s yearlong pilot began at the end of 2024 with roughly 25 fixed cameras positioned around the city to capture rear license plates. According to the city’s ALPR transparency materials, images are stored for about 30 days. Police officials credit the system with helping them quickly find vehicles linked to traffic collisions and sexual-assault investigations…