Fullerton to review Flock camera policy amid privacy concerns

Fullerton officials are expected to review the city’s policy for Flock automated license plate reader cameras after residents and council members raised privacy concerns, Voice of OC reported.

The debate places Fullerton among Orange County cities reexamining police use of license plate reader technology, with Santa Ana expected to review its contract next month and Costa Mesa recently deciding to keep its system.

Voice of OC reported that Fullerton has 19 Flock automated license plate reader cameras, including two mobile cameras. California State University of Fullerton has 46 Axon cameras that were described as similar to Flock’s system.

Fullerton Police Chief Jon Radus said the city has spent $236,000 on Flock equipment, subscriptions and maintenance since the system was installed in 2021, according to Voice of OC. Radus said police have recovered 274 stolen vehicles and found 18 missing persons since then.

Fullerton Councilmember Ahmad Zahra said at the Sept. 15 meeting, "I don’t want a system that is surveilling the mom taking her kid out to school or for ice cream. I want to make sure that the systems we’re using are credible, are vetted and are constantly reviewed and have a public policy in place," Voice of OC reported.

Radus said the cameras are used on public roads and that system access is limited. "Our Flock cameras are in the public domain," Radus said at the meeting, according to Voice of OC. "They’re on public roadways where there is no expectation of privacy, and that’s something that’s been established by all the courts across the land, that there is no expectation of privacy when you are on a public road."

Radus said Fullerton police do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities because of Senate Bill 54 and cannot share information with agencies outside California, Voice of OC reported. He also said Flock data is deleted after 30 days unless saved as evidence, and that department audits were changed from annual to quarterly.

According to Flock’s transparency webpage, the cameras detected over a million unique vehicles and about 5,100 flagged vehicles over the last 30 days. The webpage also showed about 500 searches in the past 30 days, Voice of OC reported.

Fullerton’s next discussion is expected to focus on whether the city’s rules provide enough oversight as police continue using the cameras.