LAPD Dropped Its Surveillance Camera Contract, Privacy Advocates Are Calling It A Win

On July 11, 2026, the Los Angeles Police Department allowed its three-year contract with Flock Safety to expire without renewal, making one of Flock's largest government customers the latest and most prominent agency to step back from the company's network of automated license plate reader cameras, which scan, log, and store the movements of vehicles across tens of thousands of locations throughout the United States. The LAPD's chief information officer Dean Gialamas was direct about the reason: the contract is not being renewed because of serious concerns around civil liberties and civil rights issues, particularly around privacy and the data being collected. The department said it wants new contractual language addressing data ownership, privacy protections, security standards, and how collected information is shared before it will consider re-engaging with the technology. An audit by the LAPD's own Inspector General, released around the same time, found that the department's license plate reader cameras had generated 161 false stolen-vehicle alerts in just two months, with each one triggering a high-risk traffic stop involving backup units, air support, and a supervisor pulling over a driver who had done nothing wrong, producing an error rate of roughly 32 percent.

The LAPD's exit from Flock is part of a broader shift that has been building momentum throughout 2026. Between August 2021 and May 2026, 82 Flock contracts were terminated across 28 states, with 39 of those terminations happening in the first five months of this year alone. Mountain View, California, South Portland, Maine, and Bloomington, Indiana have all ended their contracts, citing a mix of privacy concerns, concerns that federal immigration agencies had used law enforcement access credentials to track people in violation of local sanctuary policies, and broader questions about who ultimately controls the data these cameras collect and how long it is retained. Lawmakers in several states have called for formal investigations into Flock's security practices, including reports that the company had not required multi-factor authentication for police logins, a basic cybersecurity standard. For privacy advocates who have spent years raising the alarm about the quiet construction of a nationwide vehicle tracking network, the LAPD's departure from one of the country's most prominent Flock partnerships is a meaningful signal that the public conversation about surveillance, data ownership, and civil liberties is beginning to produce concrete results.

Source:https://www.military.com/flock-surveillance-cameras-face-another-blow-lapd-wont-renew-contract