Institute for Justice documented 14 confirmed cases of U.S. officers abusing Flock Safety ALPR networks to stalk romantic partners, with most surfacing via victim reports.
Key Takeaways
Most abuse was discovered by victims, not internal audits; Flock’s own safeguards caught only a few of the 14 cases.
HaveIBeenFlocked.com, which aggregates public Flock audit logs, directly exposed the Milwaukee case where an officer queried plates ~180 times over two months.
Cases span 2021-2026 across 10+ states; charges include stalking, computer crimes, and kidnapping-related offenses; nearly all officers were fired or resigned.
Institute for Justice argues warrantless ALPR access structurally enables abuse and is litigating against San Jose and Norfolk ALPR programs under Fourth Amendment grounds.
The 14 cases are explicitly called an undercount: vague search justifications and quiet resolutions hide additional incidents.
