Fresno, California, says it will stop using Flock Safety as its license plate reader vendor when the city’s contract expires in February 2027. Mayor Jerry Dyer and Police Chief Mindy Casto announced the decision on Friday, November 6, after a review found that agencies outside California had searched information collected by Fresno’s cameras despite restrictions city officials believed were in place.

But this is not a decision to get rid of license plate readers. Fresno plans to keep using the technology to investigate crimes, look for another supplier and develop stronger local rules governing who can access the information. The distinction matters: a city can reject one company’s system without giving up license plate readers altogether.

What prompted the decision?

Fresno operates about 70 fixed license plate reader cameras supplied by Flock Safety. The cameras record identifying information about passing vehicles, which authorized investigators can search when looking for a vehicle connected to a case. Fresno had agreements allowing certain California law enforcement agencies to share information, but officials said the review uncovered searches or access involving agencies beyond those arrangements.

At the November 6 announcement, Casto said some searches by other agencies listed immigration as a reason. She said the review found no searches by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or other federal agencies. Those are two different findings: a search marked for an immigration-related purpose does not, by itself, establish that ICE accessed Fresno’s records.

According to GV Wire’s report on the announcement, Casto said Flock had told Fresno that a software update caused unintended data sharing and that the company had corrected it. FOX26’s coverage reported that officials could not conclusively say whether the access resulted from a city setting or a change to Flock’s system. The records and technical details needed to independently resolve that question have not been presented in these reports.

That uncertainty helps explain the city’s concern. Privacy protections depend not just on what a police department intends to permit, but on what the system actually allows and what its audit records can show afterward.

Why Fresno police still want the cameras

Police leaders argue the cameras are useful for serious investigations. Casto said that from January through October 2026, license plate readers helped investigators with 42 of the city’s 128 shootings and 16 of its 25 homicides. She also credited the technology with helping identify stolen vehicles and suspects in fatal hit-and-run cases, according to ABC30’s coverage.

These are figures reported by the Police Department, not an independent measurement of how much the cameras reduced crime. A license plate reader may provide an important lead, while officers, witnesses, forensic work and other evidence are still needed to solve a case.

The department says it places the fixed cameras in areas affected by shootings, thefts and other serious crimes. Dyer has said Fresno has used license plate reader technology for more than 15 years, long before its current Flock system. His objection is to the confidence the city can place in its data controls, not to the basic investigative tool.

What happens next?

Officials said Fresno will look for another vendor, with a possible contract proposal going to the City Council as early as December. The current Flock agreement is expected to run through February 2027. As of the November 6 announcement, the city had not named a replacement vendor or demonstrated that a new system would meet its goals.

City Councilmember Nick Richardson is also working on a broader city policy covering license plate reader data. The ideas discussed include documenting each search, improving audits, limiting routine data storage to 30 days and restricting improper sharing or use. Those rules are proposals, not a newly enacted ordinance. Police officials say they have already increased checks of system access and require case numbers for searches.

Separately, Fresno police are investigating an allegation that an officer improperly used license plate reader information for personal reasons. That allegation has not been resolved publicly, and it should not be confused with the separate questions about out-of-state access.

The larger question for communities

Fresno’s decision raises a practical question for any city considering license plate readers: who can see the data after a vehicle passes a camera? Local policies may specify approved investigations and agencies, but residents also need to know how those limits are enforced, how exceptions are logged and how officials detect mistakes or misuse.

Changing vendors may change the controls and the people responsible for them. It does not automatically settle questions about storage, outside access or oversight. Those questions follow the data, regardless of the brand name on the camera.

For a plain-language explanation of what cameras collect and how long records may remain available, see our guide, What Happens to Your License Plate Data?

Sources

FOX26/KMPH, November 6, 2026: Fresno leaders address the automated license plate reader debate; GV Wire, November 6, 2026: Fresno will drop Flock contract over data-sharing and privacy concerns; ABC30/KFSN, published November 7, 2026: Fresno will no longer use Flock cameras starting February 2027.