Who can search your license plate in Flock systems depends on the city

MetroWhat we learned about how long Flock keeps license plate images — and who can search themTwo Flock Safety’s Automated License Plate Reader cameras photographed on a utility pole at the intersection of W. 73rd and Lorain Avenue alongside Cleveland police cameras, May 20, 2026. Cleveland installed 100 Flock Falcon cameras across the city in 2023, and the existing $250,000 contract is set to expire in June. John Kuntz, cleveland.comBy Michael Johnson, cleveland.comcleveland.com Express DeskCLEVELAND, Ohio — A photo of your license plate captured by a Flock Safety camera can remain searchable for 30 days under the company’s standard retention period, but who can access it and how broadly it can be searched can depend on rules set by individual police departments and governments.Ohio Sen. Al Cutrona, a Republican from the Youngstown area, wants to impose statewide limits. His planned legislation would require Flock data to be deleted after 10 days, restrict sharing and make personal misuse of the system a felony.These are five takeaways from the original article, which examined Cutrona’s proposal and growing concerns over how police use automated license plate readers.1. Flock generally keeps license plate images for 30 daysFlock cameras photograph passing vehicles and record license plates and other identifying details. The images enter a searchable database that investigators can use to determine where and when a vehicle was spotted.Flock’s standard retention period is 30 days. Cutrona’s proposal would shorten that to 10 days for Ohio governments and police agencies using the technology.That would reduce the window during which older vehicle sightings remain available to investigators.2. Access rules can vary from one police agency to anotherFlock systems allow agencies to search their own camera networks and, depending on agreements and settings, data collected by other participating agencies.That means a camera physically located in one community does not necessarily mean only officers in that community can search its records.Cutrona’s legislation would prohibit governments from sharing Flock information with third parties, imposing a statewide restriction in an area where policies now can depend on individual agencies and their arrangements with Flock.3. Cleveland-area cameras already generate searches extending beyond routine local policingCleveland operates 100 Flock cameras, while more than 1,700 license plate readers are deployed across Cuyahoga County. Most are government-owned, although some are privately owned.Records released this summer showed nearly 2,000 immigration-related searches had been conducted through Cleveland’s Flock system.At the same time, Cleveland police and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office told City Council they could not quantify how many cases the technology had helped solve because its use is not consistently tracked.4. Personal misuse would become a felony under the proposalCutrona wants to make using Flock cameras or their data for personal reasons a fourth-degree felony.The proposal follows a Washington Post investigation that identified at least 50 officers nationwide who were accused or charged with misusing license plate readers, including to track girlfriends, former spouses or women they wanted to meet.Cutrona said the legislation is intended to establish legal boundaries protecting residents’ privacy while allowing police to continue using the technology.5. Flock is tightening its own controls, but the bill would put rules into state lawFlock announced that beginning Jan. 1, users will have to enter case numbers when searching its system. New software also will identify potentially abnormal searches, and the company is recommending shorter routine retention periods.Those are company policies rather than requirements imposed by Ohio law.Cutrona’s proposal would make some limits mandatory for Ohio agencies. The bill has not yet been assigned a number, so its final language, legislative path and prospects for passage remain unresolved.Michael Johnson brings nearly four decades of newspaper experience in reporting, editing, newsroom leadership, page design and digital publishing. He has led daily and weekly newsrooms in Pennsylvania,...