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Police chief defends Flock license‑plate readers as investigatory tool, outlines safeguards
Summary
Moore's police chief told the city council that Flock automated license‑plate readers are an investigatory aid—not facial recognition—and described access controls, a 30‑day retention policy for nonmatches, and internal auditing to prevent curiosity searches.
The police chief told the Moore City Council that the department’s Flock automated license‑plate reader (ALPR) system is an investigatory tool that can help recover stolen vehicles and locate missing people while operating under strict policies and audit trails.
"Blind trust has no business in public safety and has no business in government," the chief said during a presentation explaining how the cameras work, what they do not do and what safeguards are in place. He said Flock is not facial recognition, does not track cell phones, does not record audio or continuous video, and cannot by itself trigger an arrest.
The chief described how the system captures rear‑license photos, compares plates to a hot list derived from NCIC alerts, and notifies officers of matches; if a plate does not match an alert it is deleted after 30 days. He said every search is logged with the operator’s name, a case number and the reason for the search so supervisors can audit use and discipline misuse.
Council members pressed staff on data ownership and third‑party access. The chief said the city controls who can search the local cameras and that manufacturers cannot access city data without permission. He cited recent results, saying, "Over the last 2 years, 30 stolen vehicles [were] recovered with an estimated value of nearly $450,000, and 23 different arrests," and he described cases in which ALPR hits helped investigations.
Several council members praised the system for aiding investigations and finding missing persons, while others raised privacy and location concerns; the chief said staff are open to technical briefings and deeper demonstrations of system metadata. The council did not take formal action on the presentation; staff offered to return with additional detail on policy and oversight.
