Are They Worth It?

A Flock license plate reading camera in El Cerrito

El Cerrito Police Chief Paul Keith reported March 4 at the City Council meeting on his investigation of information-sharing by the city’s Flock Safety license plate-reading cameras.

An Issue with Unintended Data Sharing

Keith’s “deep dive” into who had access to El Cerrito data was done given his awareness that other many Bay Area jurisdictions have found instances of unexpected data sharing from their Flock license-reading cameras. One city, Mountain View, canceled its Flock contract last month.

The issue was also addressed March 4 at the Richmond City Council, which delayed action on renewing its contract with Flock Safety. Many of the city’s cameras have been turned off because of concerns that outside agencies could access Flock data, possibly for immigration enforcement. At this week’s Richmond council meeting, a contingent of residents and businesses asked that Flock camera use be reinstated. No decision was made.

Meetings About Renewing Flock Safety Contract

El Cerrito’s contract with Flock Safety is up for renewal this spring. The matter will be discussed at the April 21 council meeting.

An informational meeting with police department staff has also been scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, at Hana Gardens.

Some Unintended Sharing, Not with Immigration

Keith reported that his investigation “looked at the system every day of every month that the system has been active for us.”

“We did not find any instances of federal immigration agencies using the system,” he said.

However, El Cerrito police did find instances of unintended data sharing. The reasons for that sharing have been identified and addressed, he said.

What Is the Flock System?

The city has about 40 cameras spread around the city of El Cerrito. They take photos of the backs of cars, read their license plates, record the date, the time, and the location, and retain the data for a 30-day period, Keith said.

Use of the system was approved by the City Council in March 2023. First installation of the cameras began in June 2023. The El Cerrito police department took administrative control of the system in August of 2023.

When Data Was Shared Unintentionally

When Flock first installed cameras, they defaulted to sharing data outside California including with federal agencies. When the police department took control of the account, “We set sharing guidelines that did not include out-of-state or federal agencies,” Keith said.

After August 2023, Keith’s investigation found two instances of federal sharing.

In September and November 2023, data was shared with the U.S. Postal Inspector’s office.

In May 2025 on two different days, the Loma Linda Healthcare Systems Veterans Administration police department did two searches using El Cerrito data.

What Happened?

Keith said he learned from the Postal Inspector’s office that in 2023, Flock found a loophole that allowed some federal agencies to search in state databases.

“Basically they would just change their location in the system and it allowed them to drop into some states and access data,” Keith said. “They fixed that access loophole for the federal agencies.”

For the Veterans Administration, it appears that it was not properly identified as a federal agency when the Flock account was set up.

Keith said Flock Safety has improved its system over the past three years because it must show control over data sharing that complies with California law. To use the system for immigration purposes is against California law. “It would get somebody fired,” Keith said.

“Tremendous Results” for Public Safety

The upside of the system, Keith said, is that it has helped the department to reduce burglaries, auto thefts, and robberies -- and to solve particular crimes.

He gave these examples.

In 2023, details about a suspect vehicle’s movement helped solve a homicide that took place in Capitola but involved an El Cerrito resident.

In 2024, the data helped police solve a fatal hit and run on San Pablo Avenue and locate the suspect’s vehicle (and the suspect) in Concord.

In 2025, the data showed police that a vehicle connected to a home invasion robbery in El Cerrito was last seen in Dixon, Calif., and to locate a suspect who was in the vehicle.

2025 was a 40-year-low for burglaries and stolen vehicles.

“Pretty tremendous results,” Keith said.

Questions from Council Members

Council members thanked Keith for reporting on an issue that has caused concern.

“I appreciate how transparent you were about what’s happened,” said council member Rebecca Saltzman. “Is it possible for us to be reviewing this more frequently, so we will know if something changes?”

Keith replied, “Going forward our new practice is going to be a monthly audit of the system. We’re talking to the city attorney about what kind of data we can publish as a result of those audits. To the extent that we can put things out there to the public we’re going to do that.”

Council member Carolyn Wysinger said she’s been hearing from community members that the Flock system could be used by federal immigration agencies “as a kind of slap in the face” to sanctuary cities. If there was a loophole in the system, Wysinger said, “it’s important to make sure that it’s not something that someone can find and make bigger.”

Council member Lisa Motoyama asked how much of the recent reduction in crime can be attributed to the Flock system, and Keith replied that it’s hard to be exact. She also asked questions about whether there are still ways for federal agencies to get information from the Flock system.

Keith urged people who want to ask questions or express concerns to attend the March 10 meeting.

More information is available on the El Cerrito Police Flock Transparency Portal here.