MOUNTAIN VIEW – Federal agencies in 2024 accessed camera data from the city’s Flock Safety automatic license plate reading system – something the Mountain View Police Department says was done without its “consent or knowledge.”
Because of this, Chief Mike Canfield has decided to turn off the cameras pending further action from the City Council.
“I made this decision after much thought and consideration,” Canfield said in a statement Monday. “Although the Flock Safety test program has shown clear value in improving our ability to protect our community and help us solve crime, I personally no longer have confidence in this vendor.
“Like many of you,” Canfield continued, “I was very disappointed to learn that Flock Safety did not meet the city’s requirements regarding our data access controls and transparency.”
Flock Safety did not respond to this news agency’s message seeking comment on the situation.
The police department said in a statement on Friday that it found this through an audit. From August to November 2024, federal agencies accessed the city’s single-camera system with the “statewide” search setting enabled by Flock Safety.
“This arrangement was made without the consent or knowledge of the MVPD,” the police department said.
Federal agencies that accessed the data included the offices of the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Kentucky and Tennessee; Langley Air Force Base in Virginia; the US GSA Office of the Inspector General; Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada and an Air Force base in Ohio, according to the police department.
The police department said Flock Safety didn’t keep the records for four months, meaning the company can’t determine whether a search of city records led to the plate information being shared.
The audit also revealed that the “nationwide” search operation was not operating under the control of a system established by the police department. The project allowed Flock Safety to enable access to California law enforcement agencies that had not yet been authorized by the MVPD to 29 of the city’s 30 automatic license plate reader cameras, known as ALDRs, according to the police department.
The agency said it disabled the facility on Jan. 5, immediately after the diagnosis of the problem.
“This is a systemic failure on Flock Safety’s part,” the police department said, adding that it “worked closely with Flock Safety when the program began to design a model that strictly prohibited sharing data outside of the county and ensured that any agency gaining access to Mountain View data was authorized by the police chief or designee.”
“We are saddened and disappointed by the way our data was accessed, and we apologize that this happened,” the police department said.
Flock Safety has assured the agency its systems have been upgraded and no longer allows any sharing of access outside of California, according to the police department.
But it is unclear whether the city will continue its relationship with the company. In the coming weeks, the Police Department plans to bring a review of the plan to the City Council. The agency said it is “evaluating other vendors that offer similar capabilities and a strong record of data protection, oversight and transparency.”
The city’s first ALPR camera went live on Aug. 14, 2024, and the last camera was installed earlier this month, according to the police department. The agency says the program has helped police investigate burglaries, burglaries and kidnappings that have resulted in a fatality.
“Public trust is more important than any individual tool,” Canfield said. “We know that the most important thing in public safety is not technology; it’s the relationship we have with you, the people we’re here to serve and protect. I share your anger and frustration about how the Flock Safety program allows foreign agencies to search our license plate data, and I’m sorry that such a search took place.”
