Oxnard police suspend Flock license-plate readers; Ventura agencies tighten controls after out-of-state access

Oxnard police have suspended use of their automated license plate readers (ALPRs) while other Ventura-area law enforcement agencies tighten oversight and consider alternatives after a vendor error allowed out-of-state agencies to query local data in potential violation of California law.

The moves follow internal audits and public disclosures by the Ventura Police Department, Oxnard Police Department and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office detailing how Flock Safety’s “National Lookup” feature was enabled without authorization in 2025, allowing agencies outside California—and in some cases federal agencies—to include local data in their searches.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the state and the U.S. have also made announcements in recent months suspending their use of Flock Safety. 

In 2022, edhat reported the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office would install license plate readers to aid in law enforcement investigations as part of a one-year trial. Also in 2024, the Santa Barbara Police Department began using Flock Safety as well.

Oxnard halts fixed ALPR network

On Friday, Feb. 27, the Oxnard Police Department (OPD) said it has suspended operation of its 19 Flock fixed-position cameras after an audit found the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police at Loma Linda conducted two nationwide queries in May 2025 that included Oxnard’s data. OPD said both queries were tied to criminal investigations and not immigration enforcement.

OPD said its system received more than 5 million queries in 2025. Although the department had set access to “California only” when it deployed Flock in December 2023, a vendor-enabled nationwide query capability allowed out-of-state agencies to include OPD in searches without the department’s knowledge.

“We were disappointed when Flock Safety’s shortcoming … allowed unauthorized data sharing,” Chief Jason Benites said, adding the suspension will remain until the department is “fully confident that our data is secure and that appropriate searching safeguards … have shown a track record” of reliability.

Ventura police report unauthorized queries, add daily audits

The Ventura Police Department (VPD) said it discovered a vendor-based configuration error on February 23, 2026, that violated its agreement and privacy protocols by allowing unauthorized out-of-state agencies to query its system. VPD uses 23 cameras citywide.

A yearlong access audit found two out-of-state agencies queried Ventura’s data between March and mid-September 2025. VPD said its settings were restricted to California-only access and no federal agencies queried its system during that period. Due to configuration issues, the department cannot determine whether any vehicle data was actually provided.

Chief David Dickey said the department did not authorize access beyond approved California partners and has implemented new protocols, including daily audits, to bolster oversight. “Public trust is not negotiable,” he said.

Sheriff’s Office logs hundreds of thousands of out-of-state queries, explores alternatives

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, which has used ALPRs for nearly a decade and stores Flock data for one year, said an internal audit on February 11, 2026, found that from February 19 to March 19, 2025, out-of-state agencies queried its data just over 364,000 times despite the office disabling National Lookup in June 2023.

The audit recorded 299 search justifications referencing immigration enforcement—about 0.08% of all searches—by federal and out-of-state local agencies. The Sheriff’s Office said it cannot determine whether any queries returned images or other data.

Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said the office has implemented daily audits to verify settings and logs and will evaluate alternative ALPR vendors “to ensure the most reliable and compliant technology available,” while emphasizing the investigative value ALPRs have provided in violent crime, theft, and missing-person cases.

Flock Safety response and new safeguards

Ventura agencies said Flock acknowledged the issue and, as of March 2025, disabled the National Lookup feature for all California customers to comply with state law, which bars sharing ALPR data with out-of-state and federal agencies. California’s SB 54 also restricts cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

According to the agencies, Flock has since added safeguards: blocking federal data-sharing with California agencies; prohibiting cross-border sharing; automatically blocking searches tied to immigration (and, in Ventura’s case, reproductive care); requiring standardized offense-type entries for searches; permanently logging sharing-setting changes; and affirming that cities and counties retain full control over their data.

Privacy, retention and next steps

All three agencies said their ALPR systems capture plates and vehicle characteristics—not drivers or passengers—and store data in encrypted cloud environments. Ventura and Oxnard retain data for 30 days; the Sheriff’s Office retains for one year.

Oxnard’s suspension takes effect while the department assesses security assurances. Ventura police and the Sheriff’s Office have not suspended use but say they will continue audits, maintain California-only access, and consider vendor alternatives.

“While we recognize this ALPR system to be a very valuable tool … we will always prioritize privacy compliance over operational convenience,” Ventura Chief Dickey said.

Sheriff Fryhoff added that public trust is “the cornerstone of effective law enforcement,” pledging transparency and responsible use of technology as the agencies address the vendor error.