SIGNALDATAAccountability. For the People. Preview
License-plate readers · Riverside County

Riverside County

Using license-plate readers · 4 agencies documented

← Statewide map
Alameda CountyAlpine CountyAmador CountyButte CountyCalaveras CountyColusa CountyContra Costa CountyDel Norte CountyEl Dorado CountyFresno CountyGlenn CountyHumboldt CountyImperial CountyInyo CountyKern CountyKings CountyLake CountyLassen CountyLos Angeles CountyMadera CountyMarin CountyMariposa CountyMendocino CountyMerced CountyModoc CountyMono CountyMonterey CountyNapa CountyNevada CountyOrange CountyPlacer CountyPlumas CountyRiverside CountySacramento CountySan Benito CountySan Bernardino CountySan Diego CountySan Francisco CountySan Joaquin CountySan Luis Obispo CountySan Mateo CountySanta Barbara CountySanta Clara CountySanta Cruz CountyShasta CountySierra CountySiskiyou CountySolano CountySonoma CountyStanislaus CountySutter CountyTehama CountyTrinity CountyTulare CountyTuolumne CountyVentura CountyYolo CountyYuba County

Riverside County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
500
'More than 500' cameras per CalMatters, Oct. 3, 2025.
  1. Feb. 4, 2025 Sheriff's office filed a CEQA notice for a Flock camera near Hemet, Aguanga and Anza (CA-79, CA-371). (CEQAnet, Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Feb. 4, 2025)
  2. June 18, 2025 CalMatters reported four May searches logged 'hsinvest'; the office said they were narcotics cases, not federal collaboration, and that some deputy justifications 'may not align with our policy.' (The Markup / CalMatters, June 18, 2025)
  3. Oct. 3, 2025 CalMatters reported the office kept hundreds of custom hot lists and added more than 700 plates in July and August, with the case field blank in over 90% of entries; Sheriff Chad Bianco opposed SB 274. (CalMatters, Oct. 3, 2025)
  4. Nov. 21, 2025 Sheriff's office filed a CEQA notice for a Flock camera in Palm Desert. (CEQAnet, Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Nov. 21, 2025)
  5. Feb. 2026 Former deputy Alexander Vanny was sentenced to six years for using Flock to stalk his former fiancee, per CalMatters. (CalMatters (republished by LAist), Sept. 3, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Vanny case: sentencing reported by CalMatters; court record not pulled.
  • No contract amounts found.
  • Some event dates here are inferred from weekday references (such as “Tuesday”) in news reports; confirm from meeting records.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Corona Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Contract
Flock Safety: $562,283 contract total · to June 30, 2025 · approved by Corona City Council Jan. 4, 2023 · Second amendment to fixed ALPR project; annual purchase orders of $164,200 (FY2023) and $153,000 (FY2024, FY2025). (City of Corona (Legistar), Jan. 4, 2023)
  1. Jan. 4, 2023 Council approved extending and expanding the Flock fixed ALPR project through June 30, 2025. (City of Corona (Legistar), Jan. 4, 2023)
Conflicts and open questions
  • No renewal after June 30, 2025 found.

From agency records.

Murrieta Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
40
20 cameras from January 2022 plus 20 more under the July 2023 five-year agreement, per city staff report; park cameras approved Sept. 2025 not counted.
Contract
Flock Safety: $750,000 three-year total · from 2025 · approved by Murrieta City Council Oct. 7, 2025 · Third amendment adding Drone as First Responder program. (City of Murrieta (Legistar), Oct. 7, 2025)
  1. Aug. 15, 2023 Council approved a five-year Flock agreement (5-0). (City of Murrieta (Legistar), Oct. 7, 2025)
  2. Aug. 20, 2024 Council added Flock's enhanced plate-reader package (5-0). (City of Murrieta (Legistar), Oct. 7, 2025)
  3. Sept. 16, 2025 Council approved Flock cameras for two parks. (City of Murrieta (Legistar), Nov. 6, 2025)

From agency records.

Riverside Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions, Vendor not named in source
Cameras
40
40 Flock Falcon cameras installed (17 in summer 2022, 23 in spring 2023), per the city staff report of Aug. 15, 2023. Excludes the 80 more proposed in that report, Vigilant units and mobile readers.
Contract
Motorola Solutions: $54,567 purchase (three ALPR systems) plus up to $25,000 a year for license renewals and data access · Legistar File 14-0282, council agenda of Feb. 4, 2014 (Vigilant Solutions); council action not shown in the Legistar record. (City of Riverside (Legistar web API), date not shown)
Contract
Motorola Solutions: $67,870 agreement (software, hardware, services) · Legistar File 20-1687, agenda of July 21, 2020; Vigilant Solutions through Lehr Auto Electric. (City of Riverside (Legistar web API), date not shown)
Contract
Motorola Solutions: $22,000 annual camera license key renewal (cumulative $89,869.56), through May 22, 2022 · to May 22, 2022 · Legistar File 21-0385, agenda of Feb. 9, 2021. (City of Riverside (Legistar web API), date not shown)
Contract
Flock Safety: $48,450 12 months (17 cameras) · from June 2022 · Described in the Aug. 15, 2023 staff report. (City of Riverside, Aug. 15, 2023)
Contract
Flock Safety: $65,550 12 months (23 cameras), with annual renewals for 40 cameras capped at 3% increases · approved by Riverside City Council Feb. 7, 2023 · Approval date stated in the Aug. 15, 2023 staff report. (City of Riverside, Aug. 15, 2023)
Contract
Flock Safety: $1,013,500 five-year total ($213,500 first year, $200,000 each later year) for 80 more cameras · Staff recommendation on the Aug. 15, 2023 agenda; council action not confirmed from minutes. An executed Flock agreement and 2023 order form are attached to the Legistar file. (City of Riverside, Aug. 15, 2023)
Contract
Vendor not named in source: $184,000 purchase of three mobile ALPR trailers (UASI FY2023 grant) · Vendor: Vetted Security Solutions, LLC (sole bidder). Fire department/OEM item on the Apr. 7, 2026 agenda; police concurred. Council action not confirmed. (City of Riverside, April 7, 2026)
  1. March 3, 2022 City entered a data-sharing memorandum with Flock Group giving police access to the Flock platform for investigations, per a later staff report. (City of Riverside, Aug. 15, 2023)
  2. Aug. 15, 2023 Staff asked the council to approve 80 more Flock cameras over five years for $1,013,500 without competitive bidding; the report says 40 Flock cameras were already installed. (City of Riverside, Aug. 15, 2023)
  3. Sept. 16, 2025 Staff asked the council to accept 25 Vigilant cameras worth $76,620 from Rancho Mirage, which had switched vendors. Costs were about $25,000 the first year, then $5,000 a year. The report says police use ALPR systems from at least two vendors. (City of Riverside, Sept. 16, 2025)
  4. April 7, 2026 Council agenda item to buy three mobile ALPR trailers for $183,999.59 with federal UASI grant funds, as a regional asset. (City of Riverside, April 7, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Legistar shows these items as Agenda Ready, with no recorded vote; outcomes of the Aug. 2023, Sept. 2025 and Apr. 2026 items not confirmed from minutes.
  • The Aug. 2023 staff report says the Riverside County Sheriff had installed 260 Flock cameras (relevant to the existing riverside-county-sheriff record).

From agency records.

Statewide

  1. Jan. 1, 2016 SB 34 (Statutes of 2015, Chapter 532), codified at Civil Code section 1798.90.5 and following, took effect. It requires ALPR operators and end users to keep a usage and privacy policy, log access, and share ALPR information only with public agencies. The Attorney General reads 'public agency' to exclude out-of-state and federal agencies. (California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, Oct. 27, 2023)
  2. Feb. 13, 2020 The California State Auditor released report 2019-118 on the Fresno Police Department, LAPD, Marin County Sheriff's Office and Sacramento County Sheriff's Office. It found none of the four audited staff searches of ALPR images, three of the four shared images without first checking the recipient's right and need to know, and 70 percent of surveyed agencies ran or planned to run ALPR. It recommended a state model policy and a maximum retention period set in law. (California State Auditor, Feb. 13, 2020)
  3. Oct. 27, 2023 The Attorney General's Division of Law Enforcement issued Information Bulletin 2023-DLE-06, telling state and local agencies that SB 34 bars sharing ALPR information with out-of-state and federal agencies, with model policy guidance. (California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, Oct. 27, 2023; California Office of the Attorney General, Oct. 3, 2025)
  4. April 2, 2024 Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a California Highway Patrol contract with Flock Safety for about 480 cameras: about 290 on Oakland surface streets and 190 on East Bay state highways, with a 28-day retention period. (Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, April 2, 2024)
  5. June 18, 2025 CalMatters and The Markup reported, from a search log obtained by Oakland Privacy covering April 28 to May 30, 2025, that 10 agencies, nine in Southern California and six in Los Angeles County, ran searches for ICE, including LAPD; the Orange and San Diego County sheriffs ran searches for Border Patrol. Riverside County logged four 'hsinvest' searches but said they were narcotics cases. (The Markup / CalMatters, June 18, 2025)
  6. Oct. 2025 Gov. Newsom vetoed SB 274, which would have required deletion of some ALPR data after 60 days, officer training, documented case reasons for searches and random Department of Justice audits. His veto message said the 60-day limit could impede investigations, particularly cold cases. (CalMatters, Oct. 3, 2025)
  7. Oct. 3, 2025 Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a petition for a writ of mandate in San Diego County Superior Court against the City of El Cajon, its police department and Chief Jeremiah Larson, alleging the department shared ALPR data with agencies in 26 other states in violation of SB 34. The AG's office said it had contacted 18 agencies about possible violations since 2024. (California Office of the Attorney General, Oct. 3, 2025; CalMatters, Oct. 3, 2025)
  8. Nov. 24, 2025 CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee wrote to Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley that data from CHP's Flock cameras may not be shared with federal officials, citing the contract's bar on sharing outside California. (KTVU FOX 2, Nov. 24, 2025)
  9. Jan. 2026 The Attorney General filed a motion in California v. City of El Cajon asking the court to order the city to stop sharing ALPR data with out-of-state agencies; the AG said the data reached more than 100 agencies outside California. A hearing was set for Feb. 13, 2026. No ruling was found in sources checked as of Oct. 17, 2026. (California Office of the Attorney General, Jan. 21, 2026; NBC 7 San Diego, Jan. 22, 2026; NBC 7 San Diego, Feb. 8, 2026)
  10. Aug. 31, 2026 SB 1013 (Cervantes), similar to the vetoed SB 274, passed the Senate but did not receive an Assembly floor vote before the session ended; CalMatters reported Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry held it. CalMatters counted this as the fifth straight year without new ALPR rules; nearly 40 law enforcement agencies and unions opposed the bill. (CalMatters (republished by LAist), Sept. 3, 2026; CalMatters Digital Democracy, date not shown)
  11. Oct. 2026 A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge dismissed a challenge to San Jose's ALPR network, rejecting claims that warrantless searches of ALPR data violate the state constitution's privacy and search provisions (outside this researcher's counties; recorded as statewide legal context). (San Jose Spotlight (republished by Local News Matters), Oct. 7, 2026)

State agencies

California Highway Patrol

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety, Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
No statewide count found. The 2024 East Bay contract covers about 480 Flock cameras (about 290 Oakland streets, 190 East Bay highways); CHP also runs mobile ALPR on patrol vehicles under General Order 81.1.
Data sharing
CHP's contract with Flock bars sharing with the federal government or any entity outside California, per the commissioner's Nov. 2025 letter (ca1-ktvu-chp-letter). Vehicle Code 2413 bars making data available to non-law-enforcement agencies or individuals.
  1. Oct. 2020 General Order 81.1 (revised October 2020) sets CHP's ALPR rules: mobile ALPR data is kept 60 days and then purged, access is limited to personnel with an investigative need, and ALPR use is reported each year in the auto theft report to the Legislature. (California Highway Patrol, Oct. 2020)
  2. Oct. 2020 Vehicle Code 2413 limits CHP retention of plate-reader data to 60 days except for evidence or felony investigations, bars selling the data, and limits its use to locating vehicles or people suspected in a public offense. (California Legislature (via california.public.law), date not shown)
  3. Feb. 8, 2024 The Oaklandside reported CHP would run Oakland's 300-camera Flock network funded by a $1.2 million state loan; CHP keeps data 60 days while Oakland and Flock agreed to 30. (The Oaklandside, Feb. 8, 2024)
  4. April 2, 2024 The governor's office announced the CHP-Flock contract for about 480 cameras in Oakland and the East Bay with 28-day retention. (Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, April 2, 2024)
  5. Nov. 24, 2025 The CHP commissioner told Flock in writing that CHP camera data cannot be shared with federal officials. (KTVU FOX 2, Nov. 24, 2025)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Retention differs by source: 60 days (GO 81.1, mobile ALPR; Vehicle Code 2413 cap), 28 days (governor's release on the East Bay Flock network), 60 days (Oaklandside on CHP practice). These may describe different systems.
  • No CHP Flock deployment in the ten southern counties was found; not checked through CHP contract records (searches exhausted).

From agency records.