Your Community, Your Data: A Public Surveillance Information Hub for Arizona Residents & Lawmakers
These are the basics of ALPR technology and the key steps you can take to learn how it’s being used in Arizona.
This guide brings together quick links and reliable resources to help Arizonans learn more about license plate readers and mass surveillance cameras in their communities. It’s designed to be simple, useful, and easy to navigate — especially as local conversations grow.
Bookmark this page; it will be updated regularly with new information.
What to Know
There are two main types of license plate readers used across Arizona, and they serve very different purposes:
Traffic-enforcement cameras — These include photo-radar speed cameras and red-light cameras. Their primary function is issuing civil or criminal traffic citations. In most cities, third-party vendors contract with local municipalities to install the cameras, operate them, review violations, and manage the citations issued on the city’s behalf.
Law-enforcement ALPRs (Automatic License Plate Readers) — These cameras capture still images of vehicles to log where a license plate was seen at a specific point in time. They are used for investigations, intelligence sharing, and locating vehicles of interest.
The largest company deploying these investigative ALPR systems nationwide is Flock Safety, whose devices are often referred to as “Flock cameras.” Flock Safety is a private technology company that provides automatic license plate reader systems to law enforcement agencies and neighborhoods across the United States. Their cameras capture still images of passing vehicles, record license plate data, and allow participating agencies to search, share, and analyze that information according to their local policies.
Pros of License Plate Readers
Aid in criminal investigations: ALPRs can help locate stolen vehicles, identify suspects, and track vehicles connected to Amber Alerts or missing-person cases.
Real-time alerts: Systems can notify officers when a plate linked to an active case passes a camera.
Traffic safety benefits: Speed and red-light cameras may reduce dangerous driving behaviors in high-risk areas.
Force multiplier: Cameras can extend law enforcement visibility without requiring additional personnel.
Data for trend analysis: Agencies can use ALPR data to understand traffic patterns or identify hotspots connected to specific crimes.
Cons of License Plate Readers
Privacy concerns: ALPRs collect data on all drivers, not just suspects, raising concerns about mass surveillance and long-term tracking.
Data retention and sharing: Policies vary by city and state, and stored data may be shared with dozens or even hundreds of other agencies.
Potential misuse: Without strong oversight, the data could be accessed for unauthorized purposes, as shown in documented misuse cases nationally.
False positives: Misread plates can lead to unnecessary traffic stops or mistaken-identity incidents.
Cost and contracts: Some systems require long-term vendor contracts, ongoing fees, or revenue-sharing models that may create financial or ethical concerns for municipalities.
Learn What Your Government Has Stored on Your License Plates
Public Records Request Template
Under Arizona’s public records laws, you have the right to request and review any ALPR data your city or another Arizona jurisdiction has collected on your own license plate as you drive through areas equipped with this technology.
Here is a template you can copy, paste, and submit through any municipality’s public-records request portal to access your own ALPR data.
Subject: Public Records Request – My License Plate Data and Images
Hello,
Under Arizona’s Public Records Law, I respectfully request any and all Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) records, images, and data associated with my vehicle.
Please provide:
All ALPR detections (date, time, and location) associated with the following license plate(s):
Plate Number: __________________
State: __________________
Vehicle Make/Model/Color (optional but helpful): __________________
Any associated still images captured by traffic-enforcement cameras or investigative ALPR cameras showing my vehicle or license plate.
The date range for which this information is available in your system. If retention limits apply, please provide the available period.
The names of any third-party vendors or systems used to collect, store, or process this data
A list of agencies with which my vehicle’s ALPR records have been shared, if such a record exists.
I am requesting records pertaining only to my own vehicle, and I am not requesting information about any other individuals.
If any portion of this request is unclear, or if fees apply, please notify me before proceeding. I prefer electronic delivery of records by email.
Thank you for your assistance.
Name: __________________
Email: __________________
Phone (optional): __________________
Information Resource Spotlight
ALPRs and How They Work — Congressional Research Service Report “Law Enforcement and Technology: Use of Automated License Plate Readers” (Aug 2024) — Covers how the technology works, how law enforcement uses it, policy/oversight questions.
🔗 www.congress.gov/crs-product
The Week article “The pros and cons of license-plate reader technology” — Offers a concise summary of benefits (crime solving, traffic enforcement) and drawbacks (inaccuracies, privacy concerns).
🔗 theweek.com/tech/automatic-license-plate-readers
Flock Safety blog post “6 Myths About License Plate Readers and Security Systems” — A vendor view, with claims about how LPRs help safe communities and how concerns are addressed.
🔗 www.flocksafety.com/blog/6-myths-license-plate-readers-security-systems
Verra Mobility is a technology company that partners with cities, municipalities and school districts to install and manage photo-enforcement systems (such as red-light and speed cameras) and related mobility solutions, including tolling and vehicle-registration management.
🔗 www.verramobility.com
Motorola Solutions License Plate Recognition Camera Systems — A portfolio of fixed, mobile and quick-deploy camera systems designed for law enforcement and public-safety agencies.
🔗 www.motorolasolutions.com/en_us/video-security-access-control/license-plate-recognition-camera-systems.html
Electronic Frontier Foundation — About Automated License Plate Readers [ALPR]
🔗 sls.eff.org/technologies/automated-license-plate-readers-alprs
Want to Take Action? Here’s Where to Start in Arizona
Live Free AZ — A citizen-led website that provides templates, background information, and simple tools for residents who want to learn about or discuss surveillance cameras and license plate readers in their community. Useful for starting local conversations and requesting public records.
🔗 livefreeaz.com
Flock Safety — Privacy & Ethics. Flock offers agencies an optional transparency portal, but in Arizona fewer than a dozen cities currently use it. You can search your city name plus “Flock transparency portal” to see if one exists, or contact your local government agency to ask whether they provide public access to this information.
🔗 www.flocksafety.com/privacy-ethics
Please let us know if you have an organization which should be listed here.
Key Questions Lawmakers Can Ask About License Plate Readers
If you’re a lawmaker looking to better understand how license plate readers are being used in your community, here are a few key questions to consider asking — and be sure to check whether your city held a fully public discussion and vote on the system, not just a consent-agenda approval or study session but an open meeting where council members and residents could engage the issue.
1. What problem are we trying to solve?
Is the purpose crime reduction, traffic enforcement, stolen-vehicle recovery, neighborhood monitoring, or something else?
2. What type of ALPR system is being proposed?
Is it photo-enforcement (speed/red-light) or investigative ALPR (vehicle-location tracking)? Who operates it?
3. Who is the vendor, and what is the full scope of the contract?
What are the costs, renewal terms, data-hosting fees, and cancellation rules?
4. What data will be collected, and how long will it be retained?
Does the retention period align with best practices, state law, and community expectations?
5. Who has access to the data?
Which local, state, or federal agencies can query or download the information, and what safeguards are in place to ensure that all sharing agencies follow your policies and restrictions?
6. Is the system audited?
What safeguards exist to prevent misuse, unauthorized lookups, or improper searches?
7. How is transparency handled?
Will the public receive annual reports? Is there a transparency portal? Are policies publicly posted and consistently updated?
8. Are there clear usage policies?
Do policies define permissible uses, prohibited uses, enforcement limits, and disciplinary consequences?
9. What is the process for residents to access their own data?
Do individuals know how to request information the city collects about their vehicles?
10. What metrics will determine whether the program is successful?
Will the city measure crime reduction, citation patterns, or community satisfaction?
11. How are privacy concerns addressed?
Does the city provide notice to residents? Are there opt-out options for neighborhoods? Has legal counsel reviewed civil-liberties implications?
12. What happens to the data if the city ends the contract?
Is information deleted, transferred, or retained by the vendor?
Be Part of the Conversation
If you have resources you’d like to see added to this document, please let us know.