Automated license plate reader (ALPR) developers
Incidents involved as Developer
Incident 16906 Report
Kechi, Kansas Police Lieutenant Victor Heiar Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader System to Monitor Estranged Wife
2022-10-23
Kechi, Kansas police lieutenant Victor Heiar used Wichita police's Flock Safety license-plate reader system to search his estranged wife's plate and review her movements over the prior month. An arrest affidavit said Heiar acknowledged knowing the use was improper; his wife said she felt violated and unsafe. He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor stalking and computer crime and received 18 months' probation.
MoreIncident 16892 Report
Fort Bend County, Texas, Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Reportedly Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader System for 189 Non-Law-Enforcement Searches
2022-01-01
From January 2022 through December 2025, a Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office lieutenant in Texas reportedly used Flock Safety's license-plate reader system to search two vehicle plates 189 times and admitted the searches were unrelated to official law-enforcement work. A resident alleged stalking and feared for their family's safety. Internal affairs found department-order violations and imposed a two-day suspension.
MoreIncident 9251 Report
Alleged License Plate Recognition Errors in Christchurch Lead to Wrongful Parking Fines
2024-10-15
An automated license plate recognition (LPR) system at The Landing car park in Christchurch, New Zealand, reportedly issued wrongful fines to dozens of parents dropping off and picking up children. The system allegedly misidentified multiple short visits as prolonged parking, which led to disputed penalties. The operator acknowledged potential errors but continued enforcement.
MoreIncident 16941 Report
Jackson Township Police in Stark County, Ohio Briefly Detained Driver After Flock Safety Alert Matched Vehicle to Stale Missing-Juvenile Hot-List Entry
2023-03-01
In March 2023, Jackson Township police in Ohio briefly detained driver Michael Smith after a Flock Safety license-plate reader matched his vehicle to an NCIC hot-list entry from a missing-juvenile investigation that Cleveland police had closed two weeks earlier. Officers released Smith after confirming the juvenile had already been found. A federal court later held that Flock matched the plate to law-enforcement data but did not create the stale entry.
MoreIncidents implicated systems
Incident 16906 Report
Kechi, Kansas Police Lieutenant Victor Heiar Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader System to Monitor Estranged Wife
2022-10-23
Kechi, Kansas police lieutenant Victor Heiar used Wichita police's Flock Safety license-plate reader system to search his estranged wife's plate and review her movements over the prior month. An arrest affidavit said Heiar acknowledged knowing the use was improper; his wife said she felt violated and unsafe. He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor stalking and computer crime and received 18 months' probation.
MoreRelated Entities
Other entities that are related to the same incident. For example, if the developer of an incident is this entity but the deployer is another entity, they are marked as related entities.
Related Entities
Individuals whose license plate data were accessed for non-law-enforcement purposes
Incidents Harmed By
Law enforcement databases
Incidents implicated systems
- Incident 16892 Reports
Fort Bend County, Texas, Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Reportedly Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader System for 189 Non-Law-Enforcement Searches
- Incident 16941 Report
Jackson Township Police in Stark County, Ohio Briefly Detained Driver After Flock Safety Alert Matched Vehicle to Stale Missing-Juvenile Hot-List Entry
Road users
Incidents Harmed By
- Incident 16941 Report
Jackson Township Police in Stark County, Ohio Briefly Detained Driver After Flock Safety Alert Matched Vehicle to Stale Missing-Juvenile Hot-List Entry
- Incident 16981 Report
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate Digit, Prompting Gunpoint Stop of Two Sisters in Española, New Mexico
Motorists
Incidents Harmed By
- Incident 16941 Report
Jackson Township Police in Stark County, Ohio Briefly Detained Driver After Flock Safety Alert Matched Vehicle to Stale Missing-Juvenile Hot-List Entry
- Incident 16981 Report
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate Digit, Prompting Gunpoint Stop of Two Sisters in Española, New Mexico