Mountain View police say feds accessed license-plate data without permission
MOUNTAIN VIEW – Federal agencies in 2024 accessed data from a camera in this city’s Flock Safety automated license plate reader system – something that the Mountain View Police Department says was done without its “permission or knowledge.”
As a result, Chief Mike Canfield has decided to turn off the cameras pending further direction from the City Council.
“I made this decision after careful consideration and deliberation,” Canfield said in a statement Monday. “While the Flock Safety pilot program demonstrated clear value in enhancing our ability to protect our community and help us solve crimes, I personally no longer have confidence in this particular vendor.
“Like many of you,” Canfield continued, “I was deeply disappointed to learn that Flock Safety did not meet the city’s requirements regarding our data access control and transparency.”
Flock Safety did not respond to a message from this news organization seeking comment on the situation.
The police department said in a statement Friday that it made the discovery through a self-initiated audit. From August to November 2024, federal agencies accessed the city’s system for one camera via a “nationwide” search setting that was turned on by Flock Safety.
“This setting was enabled without MVPD’s permission or knowledge,” the police department said.
Federal agencies that accessed the data included Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offices in Kentucky and Tennessee; Langley Air Force Base in Virginia; the U.S. GSA Office of Inspector General; Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada and an Air Force base in Ohio, according to the police department.
The police department said Flock Safety did not retain records for the four-month period, meaning the company cannot determine whether searches of the city’s data resulted in license plate information being shared.
The audit also revealed a “statewide” search function was not operating within the system controls the police department established. This function allowed Flock Safety to enable access to California law enforcement agencies that had not been approved by MVPD for 29 of the city’s 30 automatic license-plate reader cameras, known as ALDRs, according to the police department.
The agency said it disabled the setting on Jan. 5, immediately after the issue was identified.
“This is a system failure on Flock Safety’s part,” the police department said, adding that it “worked closely with Flock Safety during the outset of the program to design a model that strictly prohibited out-of-state data sharing and ensured that any agency receiving access to Mountain View’s data was approved by the police chief or his designee.”
“We are upset and disappointed with how our data was accessed, and we are sorry that this occurred,” the police department said.
Flock Safety has assured the agency its systems have been improved and that it no longer enables any access sharing outside of California, according to the police department.
But it remains unclear if the city will continue its relationship with the company. In the coming weeks, the police department plans to bring a review of the program to the City Council. The agency said it is “assessing alternative vendors that offer similar capabilities and a stronger track record of data protection, oversight and transparency.”
The city’s first ALPR camera went live on Aug. 14, 2024, and the final camera was installed earlier this month, according to the police department. The agency says the system has helped officers investigate burglaries, home break-ins and a reported kidnapping.
“Community trust is more important than any individual tool,” Canfield said. “We know that the most vital asset in public safety is not technology; it is the relationship we have with you, the people we are here to serve and protect. I share your anger and frustration regarding how Flock Safety’s system enabled out-of-state agencies to search our license plate data, and I am sorry that such searches occurred.”