Flock Safety Faces Setback as LAPD Ends Contract

Flock Safety, a company specializing in security hardware, has experienced another setback as the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) opted not to renew its contract. The decision was made due to significant worries surrounding privacy and data security.

An LAPD representative announced on Monday that they allowed the surveillance company’s contract to expire over the weekend.

“We aimed to address various civil liberty and civil rights issues and clarify the terms related to privacy, data ownership, and security,” the spokesperson stated.

Based in Atlanta, Flock operates an extensive network of over 80,000 cameras nationwide that scan license plates to help law enforcement track vehicles. The LAPD had been one of Flock’s most notable government clients until now.

“The contract is not being renewed due to serious concerns regarding civil liberties and civil rights, especially related to privacy and data collected from these cameras,” explained Dean Gialamas, the department’s chief information officer, after the announcement was made.

Gialamas added that the LAPD will step back from participation until issues about data, privacy, security, and sharing can be resolved through a contractual relationship.

Meanwhile, Flock insists that all data in its system belongs solely to the local law enforcement agencies that utilize it.

“Our customers own the data, not Flock,” said Josh Thomas, the company’s chief communications officer.

Interestingly, the LAPD isn’t the only agency withdrawing from Flock. According to reports from the San Francisco Standard, 82 contracts with Flock were terminated across 28 states from August 2021 to May 2026, with nearly half—39—of those terminations happening in just the first five months of 2026.