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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 audit finds one in three Flock stolen-vehicle alerts wrong; city lets contract lapse

The Los Angeles Police Department’s Office of Inspector General audited two months of Flock Safety stolen-vehicle hot-list alerts from August and September 2025. Of 498 alerts, 161 were false positives: vehicles the system flagged as stolen were not stolen. The remaining 337 alerts led to recovered vehicles, about one in three alerts wrong. The audit attributed the errors to hot-list data, not plate reads: recovered vehicles not cleared from lists, outdated theft reports and uncorrected data-entry mistakes. The OIG recommended suspending new ALPR camera deployments and contracts pending public input and a broader reassessment of vendors and data practices. LAPD’s three-year 2023 agreement for 138 pole-mounted cameras expired July 11, 2026 and was not renewed, with the department citing privacy and data-ownership concerns. At the July 15 Police Commission meeting, officials said they were negotiating a new contract giving the city ownership of all plate data.

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
  3. +1 dayLAPD audit finds one in three Flock stolen-vehicle alerts wrong; city lets contract lapse this entry

Sources

  1. Review of Los Angeles Police Department Automatic License Plate Reader System and Use in the Field — Office of the Inspector General, Los Angeles Police Commission, Jul 10, 2026 (oig.lacity.org)
  2. LAPD allows Flock contract to expire amid talks over terms, privacy protections — Police1 (police1.com)
  3. LAPD sidelines relationship with license-plate reader company Flock Safety — The Record (Recorded Future News) (therecord.media)
  4. LAPD Cuts Off Flock Safety After Audit Finds One-in-Three Hot-List Alerts Were False — Tech Times, Jul 17, 2026 (techtimes.com)
  5. LAPD pauses use of Flock license plate reading cameras — CBS Los Angeles (cbsnews.com)
  6. LAPD watchdog urges reconsideration of automatic license plate readers — NBC Los Angeles, Jul 13, 2026 (nbclosangeles.com)
  7. LAPD ends contract with licence plate reader company Flock after audit reveals 161 innocent drivers were wrongly stopped in two months — The Times of India, Jul 14, 2026 (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

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