Sheriff and city staff defend Flock ALPR program as investigative tool, outline limits and costs
September 28, 2026 | La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles County, California
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Assistant City Manager Arba Parsa and Captain Ryan Vienna of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station gave a detailed briefing to the La Cañada Flintridge Public Safety Commission on the city's Flock automatic-license-plate-reader (ALPR) program.
Arba Parsa reviewed program history and budget: the council began ALPR discussions in 2016, funded an initial deployment around 2019'20 and has incrementally added cameras to reach roughly 50 fixed cameras today. "On average, the city spends about $150,000 a year on Flock cameras," Parsa told the commission. She said the contract runs roughly three more years and that city staff have no operational access to images; the sheriff's department is the custodian of the records.
Captain Vienna described how deputies and detectives use the system operationally and repeatedly framed Flock as an investigative tool rather than a method of live surveillance. "Flock is a tool, no different than ALPR cameras that we have deployed on cameras or no different than a flashlight helping illuminate, something we're trying to look at," he said. He explained that Flock takes still images of license plates at fixed locations and that law enforcement queries must be tied to an incident file number.
Vienna gave several case examples in which ALPR hits assisted investigations: a stolen vehicle hit that led to a multi-jurisdictional pursuit and arrest, and a linked series of residential burglaries identified through timeline analysis. He told the commission the station logs and audits every Flock query and that administrative access at the station is limited to himself, a lieutenant and a sergeant.
On privacy and legal limits, Vienna pointed to California law and LASD policy, saying "we do not share data out of state" and referenced Senate Bill 54, the California Values Act, as restricting use for immigration enforcement. He also described an AI-assisted auditing function that flags unusual queries for supervisor review and said misuse can produce internal discipline or criminal referral.
The presentation prompted questions about resource trade-offs (mobile patrols vs. cameras), whether Flock can be used to enforce misdemeanors, and whether signal jammers or stolen plates generate false positives. Vienna said the city funded e-bikes to reduce enforcement footprint near schools, that Flock does not produce audio or speed measures and that stolen plates are a common operational problem requiring detective follow-up.
Next steps noted by staff: the city will present related material to city council in a separate session, staff confirmed the city's 30-day retention policy (exceptions for evidentiary holds), and pilot projects for mobile ALPR trailers and a watch-center pilot were described as subject to future public engagement and council approval.
Arba Parsa reviewed program history and budget: the council began ALPR discussions in 2016, funded an initial deployment around 2019'20 and has incrementally added cameras to reach roughly 50 fixed cameras today. "On average, the city spends about $150,000 a year on Flock cameras," Parsa told the commission. She said the contract runs roughly three more years and that city staff have no operational access to images; the sheriff's department is the custodian of the records.
Captain Vienna described how deputies and detectives use the system operationally and repeatedly framed Flock as an investigative tool rather than a method of live surveillance. "Flock is a tool, no different than ALPR cameras that we have deployed on cameras or no different than a flashlight helping illuminate, something we're trying to look at," he said. He explained that Flock takes still images of license plates at fixed locations and that law enforcement queries must be tied to an incident file number.
Vienna gave several case examples in which ALPR hits assisted investigations: a stolen vehicle hit that led to a multi-jurisdictional pursuit and arrest, and a linked series of residential burglaries identified through timeline analysis. He told the commission the station logs and audits every Flock query and that administrative access at the station is limited to himself, a lieutenant and a sergeant.
On privacy and legal limits, Vienna pointed to California law and LASD policy, saying "we do not share data out of state" and referenced Senate Bill 54, the California Values Act, as restricting use for immigration enforcement. He also described an AI-assisted auditing function that flags unusual queries for supervisor review and said misuse can produce internal discipline or criminal referral.
The presentation prompted questions about resource trade-offs (mobile patrols vs. cameras), whether Flock can be used to enforce misdemeanors, and whether signal jammers or stolen plates generate false positives. Vienna said the city funded e-bikes to reduce enforcement footprint near schools, that Flock does not produce audio or speed measures and that stolen plates are a common operational problem requiring detective follow-up.
Next steps noted by staff: the city will present related material to city council in a separate session, staff confirmed the city's 30-day retention policy (exceptions for evidentiary holds), and pilot projects for mobile ALPR trailers and a watch-center pilot were described as subject to future public engagement and council approval.
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