{"id":418704,"date":"2026-07-31T00:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T00:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/418704\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T00:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T00:00:10","slug":"5-things-we-learned-about-the-use-of-flock-cameras-from-fresnos-police-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/418704\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Things We Learned About The Use Of ‘Flock Cameras’ From Fresno\u2019s Police Chief"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story is produced from an episode of KVPR\u2019s Central Valley Daily podcast. Listen to all episodes here<\/a>, and wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a story idea, email podcast@kvpr.org.<\/p>\n

FRESNO, Calif. \u2013 Automated License Plate Recognition or ALPR technology has been around for decades. But a new AI-powered version made by a company called Flock Safety is raising major privacy concerns.<\/p>\n

In the city of Fresno, 70 such cameras are installed at locations that are designated as \u201chigh crime.\u201d Earlier in July, the Fresno Police Department held a community forum to speak directly with residents about these privacy issues.<\/p>\n

At the Ted C. Wills community center north of downtown Fresno, Alfred Aldrete, a community activist with the group \u201cFresno Resistance,\u201d stood under the blistering sun holding a giant sign with a message against Flock cameras.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here in response to the citizens of Fresno’s concerns over mass surveillance here in the city with these flock cameras, the abuse of these cameras by not only the police, by other individuals,\u201d he told Central Valley Daily producer Jonathan Linden.<\/p>\n

Aldrete has been outspoken against the camera system. That night, he was joined by dozens of others inside the community center, where metal folding chairs were spread out across the gymnasium.<\/p>\n

\"Residents<\/p>\n

Residents in Fresno have been against police use of so-called “Flock” cameras. <\/p>\n

Community advocates and concerned citizens voiced their concerns over how the technology from Flock Safety would use and store their personal information.<\/p>\n

One resident said, \u201cSurveillance does not equal safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another stated, \u201cI’m afraid of what this could cause for all of us, whether it be you folks, myself, or the sheriff’s department. Nobody needs to be put in harm’s [way] over mass surveillance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fresno police chief Mindy Casto was on a stage addressing the audience. She was flanked by three other department leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to make sure I have an opportunity to get some facts out. Most certainly, to try to clear up any misconceptions you may have, and you still might leave here obviously not in agreement, but I want to hear you out. I don’t want to be the one up here talking all the time,\u201d she told the crowd.<\/p>\n

Before the community event, Central Valley Daily host Soreath Hok spoke to Chief Mindy Casto one-on-one about the department\u2019s use of these controversial cameras.<\/p>\n

Casto addressed some pressing community concerns, including who can access the data that\u2019s captured. Below are five takeaways from the interview:<\/p>\n

1. When did the Fresno Police Department begin using license plate readers and who decides on the contracts?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chief Mindy Casto said the police department has used some versions of license plate readers since before 2015. It wasn\u2019t always \u201cautomatic\u201d plate readers, but the technology has evolved over time. Casto said previously, license plate readers were \u201cmobile,\u201d meaning they were placed in patrol vehicles. In 2024, under a contract entered into by the city of Fresno with Flock Safety, the department began using the \u201cfixed\u201d cameras that are mounted along poles and seen in public today. The fixed cameras are placed in areas where the department has identified high crime activity. The current Flock contract expires in March 2027 and is covered by a state grant. Parameters of the contract are negotiated between Flock and elected officials in Fresno.<\/p>\n

2. What does the police chief say about balancing safety and freedom?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chief Casto emphasized the department is trying to balance residents’ \u201cconcerns about liberty,\u201d with the need to provide security in the city. Casto said the department has safeguards in place which include: keeping data from automatic license plate readers for 30 days, training officers in how to use the data before they get it, and auditing the use of the cameras. Part of the balance, Casto said, is having written agreements in place with other police agencies about how to use the data.<\/p>\n

3. What do Flock cameras capture?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chief Casto said the cameras currently in use in the city have a capacity to capture close detail of vehicles. They capture things such as the image and characters of the license plate, the color and make and model of the car, and any damage to the car.<\/p>\n

4. How does the Fresno police department handle Flock camera data sharing?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Flock camera data can be accessed by any department in California that has a written agreement with the Fresno police department, according to Chief Casto. A database allows agencies to search for information about a vehicle related to a crime, including a missing person\u2019s case. The department does not share data with agencies outside of California, including with immigration authorities, Casto added, since California prohibits agencies from working with federal immigration agencies.<\/p>\n

5. Has technology helped reduce crime in the city?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chief Casto said using technology like the Flock cameras has helped reduce crime in the city. She shared some statistics with Central Valley Daily, including that the camera technology has helped solve 70 percent of the city\u2019s murders so far in 2026. She said the faster police can solve a violent crime, the lesser the chance for retaliatory violence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story is produced from an episode of KVPR\u2019s Central Valley Daily podcast. Listen to all episodes here,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[179,723,35940,46776,112,114,113,236,2058,8580,9550],"class_list":["post-418704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-community","tag-crime","tag-flock","tag-flock-cameras","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news","tag-police","tag-protest","tag-security","tag-surveillance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}