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A running, sourced timeline of how license-plate readers, body cams and AI policing tools are actually going — and what the failures cost taxpayers.

Timeline / entry

· Los Angeles, CA

LAPD OIG finds 161 false license plate alerts, recommends suspending new ALPR cameras

The Los Angeles Police Commission’s Inspector General publicly released a review of the LAPD’s automatic license plate reader (ALPR) system. During a two-month review period ending September 30, 2025, cameras captured 210,568,103 license plate reads. Officers confirmed 161 ALPR alerts as accurate matches to scanned plates, but subsequent investigation determined the vehicles were not stolen. The report also found 337 alerts led to stolen vehicle recoveries, 68 alerts led to 74 arrests, and nine alerts resulted in pursuits. The OIG recommended suspending new ALPR camera deployments and new contracts pending public input and formal agreements with all vendors covering data security, privacy, access controls, retention, and auditing.

Also in Los Angeles, CA

3 entries over 7 yr 4 mo, oldest first. The gap is the time since the previous one.

  1. LAPD inspector general audit finds predictive-policing programs unmeasurable; PredPol later discontinued
  2. +7 yr 4 moLAPD OIG finds 161 false license plate alerts, recommends suspending new ALPR cameras this entry
  3. +1 dayLAPD audit finds one in three Flock stolen-vehicle alerts wrong; city lets contract lapse

Sources

  1. Review of Los Angeles Police Department Automatic License Plate Reader System and Use in the Field — Los Angeles Police Commission, Office of the Inspector General, Jul 10, 2026 (lapdpolicecom.lacity.org)

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