Drive across the 925, and your vehicle may pass through several cities with Flock Safety license plate cameras.
Public records document Flock deployments in communities stretching from Orinda and Walnut Creek to Brentwood and the Tri-Valley. They’ve become an essential tool for modern policing, but also have raised questions among some citizens.
Here is what the available records establish as of October 14, 2026, with those distinctions included.
The 925 cities and towns with documented Flock deployments
The following 12 communities have documented Flock camera programs or installation projects. This is a list of municipalities, not a count of every camera operated by police, businesses or homeowners associations.
Brentwood: The city has a police-operated Flock program. NBC Bay Area reported in August that Brentwood police controlled 62 Flock license plate readers. A separate controversy involved four cameras controlled by the Shadow Lakes homeowners association. The city revoked the HOA’s permits; that action concerned the private installation, rather than ending the police program.
Clayton: A Brentwood city staff document lists Clayton among Contra Costa communities using Flock Safety. The document establishes the deployment, but should not be treated as a current camera inventory.
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Concord: Concord’s official Flock Safety page explicitly states that the city uses the company’s automated license plate reader system. It also invites businesses and residents to purchase cameras and partner with the city.
Danville: The town’s police reporting describes a townwide Flock system, along with privately purchased neighborhood cameras that supply information to law enforcement. Reporting on the department’s 2025 annual report confirms Flock remains part of its policing technology.
Dublin: Dublin Police Services says it uses Flock for real-time vehicle alerts and searches that help investigators after a crime. Its website links to a public transparency portal.
Livermore: The police department’s transparency and information page identifies its use of Flock Safety technology.
Oakley: Oakley’s official police website links directly to the department’s Flock Safety transparency portal.
Orinda: A state environmental filing posted September 9, 2026 documents a Flock camera installation on behalf of Orinda police. The project places a camera and solar panel on an existing traffic signal or streetlight pole.
Pleasant Hill: A March 2026 state filing documents a Flock camera installation project at Monument Boulevard and Interstate 680. It describes a license plate camera and solar panel mounted on an existing pole.
Pleasanton: The city says it now exclusively uses a Flock ALPR system. Its public information page lists camera locations and explains retention and access policies.
San Ramon: The police department says it currently operates 56 Flock license plate cameras. It also describes partnerships with businesses and community organizations that voluntarily give police access to their own Flock systems.
Walnut Creek: A March 27, 2026 state filing documents a Flock camera installation for Walnut Creek police on Ygnacio Valley Road. The project uses an existing traffic signal pole and solar power.
Antioch is moving away from Flock
Antioch belongs in this discussion, but its status requires an explanation.
The city has operated Flock cameras and still links to a Flock portal from its police transparency page. However, the City Council voted August 25 to approve an Axon technology package intended to replace its existing license plate reader systems.
According to the Antioch Herald’s account of the meeting, police officials said the transition depended on getting the new system running. The police chief also said the existing Flock contract had another 12 months remaining.
That establishes an approved change of vendor, rather than a confirmed date when every Flock camera stopped operating. It also means leaving Flock does not necessarily mean abandoning license plate surveillance.
What about Moraga, Pittsburg, Lafayette and Martinez?
These communities illustrate why an unqualified list can be misleading.
Moraga operates license plate readers and can access other agencies’ information through Flock and Motorola networks, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. A community camera mapping project also reports Flock-branded equipment around Moraga. However, network access and mapped equipment do not, by themselves, establish a current inventory of town-operated Flock cameras.
Pittsburg identified Flock Safety as a prospective camera vendor in its state retail theft grant application. Community mapping reports cameras in the area, including equipment attributed to a freeway security network associated with Pittsburg police. A proposal and mapped equipment are useful evidence, but they are not a verified current citywide Flock inventory.
Lafayette and Martinez are not included in the confirmed municipal deployment list above. The records reviewed did not establish a current city-operated Flock camera program in either community.
What the cameras collect — and why it matters
License plate readers capture vehicle information tied to a time and place. Pleasanton says its system identifies vehicle characteristics and does not use facial recognition. Its routine retention period is 30 days, although relevant records can be saved as evidence.
San Ramon says its cameras have helped investigations involving burglaries, robberies and organized retail theft. The department says it conducts monthly audits and does not share or access Flock data with federal or out-of-state agencies.
This list represents our best research, but locating definitive sources can be challenging. If you know of any updates needed on this list, email tom@bayareatelegraph.com and let us know.
