How to file a public records request for Flock camera data

File it with the agency that operates the cameras, not with Flock Safety. Ask by name for the contract, the ALPR policy, the Organization Audit and Network Audit exports (as CSV), the list of agencies the data is shared with, and the camera inventory. Give a date range, ask for a fee estimate first, and cite your state's public records law.

Ask the agency that runs the camera

Flock Safety is a private company, and state public records laws don't reach it. The records belong to the customer: the police department, sheriff's office or city that bought the cameras. That's who gets your request.

Most of what you'll want is easy for the agency to produce, because an administrator can export search audits from Flock's software. Flock's own records guidance, as quoted by HaveIBeenFlocked, says customers "may download these logs in the user interface as spreadsheets in 31-day increments." A request that names those exports is much harder to answer with "no responsive records" than one that asks for "all Flock data."

Private operators are different. A Lowe's, Home Depot or HOA camera isn't covered by public records law, though anything those owners share with police can show up in the agency's sharing records. Who can access Flock data explains how that sharing works.

What to ask for

Name each record. Agencies answer the request you wrote, not the one you meant.

Audit logs only go back as far as the agency kept them, so file sooner rather than later. How long Flock keeps data covers retention.

How to file it

1. Find the operator. Look up the cameras on your street on the map or your town's page. The operator is often a county sheriff or a neighboring city, not your own police department.
2. Find the records portal. Most cities and counties take requests through an online portal or a records officer's email address. Search the agency's site for "public records request."
3. Check for a transparency portal. Some agencies publish camera counts, policy and search summaries already. It won't replace the audit CSVs, but it can tell you what to ask for.
4. Send a narrow request. A defined date range of a few months gets processed faster than "everything since 2022." You can file again for the next period.
5. Keep the originals. Note the date you received each file. HaveIBeenFlocked's researchers compared West Des Moines audit exports taken a day apart and found a few percent of records swapped, so the export date matters if you compare files later.

A request you can copy

Fill in the brackets and cite your own state's law. This is a starting point, not legal advice.

Under the [state public records law, with citation], I request the following records of the [agency name] for [start date] through [end date]:

1. All contracts, amendments, renewals and invoices with Flock Safety.
2. Any policy, general order or procedure governing automated license plate readers.
3. The Organization Audit and the Network Audit exported from the agency's Flock Safety account, in their native CSV or spreadsheet format.
4. Records showing which agencies or organizations this agency shares ALPR data with, and which share with it.
5. A list of the agency's ALPR cameras, with locations.
6. Any internal audit or review of ALPR searches.

Please send records electronically. If you believe Flock Safety holds any of these records, please say whether the agency can export them from its own account. If any record is withheld or redacted, please cite the exemption for each one. If fees will exceed $[amount], please send an itemized estimate before starting work.

Fees, delays and denials

Cost depends far more on the agency than on the law. A Texas Tribune investigation found North Richland Hills quoting about $2.3 million, paid up front, for roughly a terabyte of communications about the system. Sealy handed over hundreds of thousands of pages for free. Irving reportedly wanted $70K for records Carrollton released at no cost. The lesson: ask for exports, not emails, and narrow anything that comes back expensive.

Delays can be just as long. Reporters at RANGE Media asked Spokane County for its Network Audit in June 2025 and got the first batch four months later: a 100-page PDF covering a single day. They got CSV files only after agreeing to drop the plate column. That trade is often worth offering early.

The most common pushback is "Flock has those records, not us." Reply that the agency can export audit logs from its own account, and ask it to cite the exemption it's relying on. Most states let you appeal a denial to the attorney general, an ombudsman or a court.

Using the app to find who to ask

Flock Camera maps 127,344 plate readers in the US, Flock's and every other brand's. Tap a camera to see its operator where one is recorded, along with brand and facing direction. Area Stats lists the top operators for whatever part of the map is on screen, so you can see whether your street is covered by the city, the county or a private owner before you write a single request.

The request itself happens outside the app: it doesn't file or track records requests, and it can't tell you whether a camera read your plate. The camera locations themselves come from OpenStreetMap, so if the inventory you get back lists a camera the map is missing, anyone can add it.

Frequently asked questions