Flock was dropped by the Los Angeles Police Department on Saturday after a three year contract was allowed to expire without renewal. But the video surveillance company, which works with police to monitor cities across the U.S., tells Gizmodo that while it was surprised by the decision, it hopes to resume work with the LAPD again soon.
“We are confident that through ongoing discussions with LAPD, we can clear up the current misconceptions that led to Friday’s disappointing pause. We hope to resume our successful partnership with the department soon,” the company said in an emailed statement Monday.
Flock has been criticized for enabling mass surveillance, especially with the use of its license plate readers, which allow police departments to see where vehicles are located across a wide geographical area. But the company insists that it respects privacy.
“Flock has been working with LAPD to ensure that any continued use of our technology included strong privacy protections, strict auditability, clear accountability, and appropriate limits around data access,” the company wrote.
The company notes that LAPD has used license plate reader technology “for years and continues to rely on it today.” The Los Angeles Times reports that Flock has 138 pole-mounted cameras in L.A. and that LAPD continues work with other vendors for license plate readers.
“Flock’s position has been simple: if this technology is going to be used, it should be used with strong privacy protections, strict auditability, and clear oversight,” the company said in a statement to Gizmodo.
“While this latest development comes as a surprise, we remain committed to continuing our active and ongoing conversations with LAPD to find a path forward. We are proud of our partnership with LAPD and the results it has achieved for the city.”
LAPD didn’t respond to Gizmodo’s questions Monday.
A mass movement has emerged across the country to fight back against Flock cameras, with many communities upset about the persistent surveillance. Flock denies working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) but activists point out there are plenty of workarounds when federal authorities want to access local data.
In California, police across the state used the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Flock license plate reader data at least 140 times from May 2025 to May 2026, according to public records obtained by the news outlet Inadvertent and the activist group Oakland Privacy.
Some activists have even been destroying the Flock cameras in their communities, though that’s illegal. As a result, some police departments have tried to keep the location of their Flock cameras a secret. The website Deflock maintains a map of known Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) nationwide.
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