Can Police Search Flock Data From Other States?

How cross-agency searches work

Flock describes a “nationwide agency network” spanning 49 states that is “agency-controlled.” Its policy says customers “choose whether to share LPR data with other customers in accordance with their laws and policies.” In August 2026, Flock said agencies would get more control over which offenses other agencies may investigate using their data. Whether an out-of-state officer can search a given camera therefore depends on the owning agency’s sharing settings.

Agencies can add their own controls. Knoxville, Tennessee, requires a lieutenant’s approval for any search run on behalf of another agency, documented with the requesting agency and the reason.

State limits: California’s example

California law says a public agency “shall not sell, share, or transfer ALPR information, except to another public agency, and only as otherwise permitted by law” (Civ. Code § 1798.90.55(b)). In a 2023 bulletin, the California Attorney General explained that “public agency” means California state and local agencies. So the law “does not permit California LEAs to share ALPR information with private entities or out-of-state or federal agencies, including out-of-state and federal law enforcement agencies.”

Earlier, in 2020, the State Auditor had found three California agencies sharing images with entities across most of the other 49 states. Rules on paper and practice don’t always match. Other states’ rules differ, and we cover each state only after verifying it. See license plate reader laws by state.

Why it can matter in a case

• Which agency ran the search, under which state’s law and policy?
• Did the sharing comply with the owning agency’s rules and state law?
• Do the search logs show the requesting agency and the stated reason? See audit logs.

A violation of a state sharing law doesn’t automatically make evidence inadmissible. What follows from it depends on the state’s remedies and the facts.