Flock, the license plate reader company facing mounting scrutiny, showcased at least four police departments in promotional videos that later faced allegations their officers misused the firm's surveillance technology, according to a report published by WIRED. The departments—in Savannah, Albany, Sandy Springs, and Baytown—were featured in videos posted between 2020 and 2025 on Flock's YouTube channel, highlighting how the automatic license plate reader (ALPR) systems helped solve crimes. The overlap raises questions about whether the technology's risks are downplayed even at agencies held up as success stories.
The Savannah Police Department appeared in a March 2022 video, and four officers plus two other employees were recently placed on administrative leave after an internal probe uncovered "potential misuses" of Flock's ALPR system. Five officers from the Albany Police Department—featured in a 2024 video—were arrested and charged in connection with alleged technology misuse; three were fired specifically for improper ALPR use, while two others were terminated for separate violations discovered during the same investigation. A Sandy Springs officer, whose department was spotlighted in a 2020 video about catching porch thieves, was fired last year amid an internal investigation into alleged misuse; investigators claimed the officer ran ALPR searches to support beta testing for a second employer, a law enforcement software company. In Baytown, featured in a 2025 video about a carjacking response, an officer resigned last week while facing both internal and criminal investigations into alleged misuse.
Flock spokesperson Paris Lewbel told WIRED that "misuse was identified and addressed," arguing that incidents shouldn't negate the technology's value to law enforcement. "When improper use is detected, agencies can investigate, take action, and hold individuals accountable," Lewbel said in an emailed statement. "That should be viewed as evidence that oversight mechanisms are working, not as a sign that the entire department or city should be broadly condemned." Savannah's police mayor Van Johnson wrote in a Facebook post that the city's internal investigation, conducted through Flock's Audit Assistance Program introduced in April, surfaced 127 inappropriate searches out of 39,000 conducted this year. "Public trust is non-negotiable," Johnson stated. "These tools exist to keep our community safe, not for personal or unauthorized use."
The cases illustrate a broader pattern of ALPR misuse allegations across the country, including in Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin. In Georgia alone, where three of the four featured departments are located, ALPR misuse allegations have also surfaced at sheriff's offices in Coweta, Cherokee, Habersham, and Richmond counties. The report notes that while these incidents show police departments have systems to catch and address ALPR misuse, Flock's promotional materials demonstrate the problem can occur even at agencies presented as exemplary users. The company's Audit Assistance Program, which Flock says "continuously monitors system activity and surfaces search patterns that fall outside an agency's typical usage," was used in the Savannah investigation—suggesting the oversight tool can detect violations but doesn't prevent them. Baytown police chief John Stringer said in a video statement that two investigations into the resigned officer's alleged misuse remain ongoing, pledging that "accountability to the fullest extent of the law will be pursued."
For law enforcement agencies deploying surveillance tools at scale, the question isn't whether oversight exists but whether it can keep pace with the temptation to bend the rules. Departments may find they're navigating a technology whose promotional promise and operational reality diverge more sharply than procurement decisions anticipated.