Ann Arbor police and the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office did not appear on a Sept. 1 list of agencies sharing Flock license plate camera data with Michigan State Police, according to MLive’s analysis of public records.
Milan police were the only Washtenaw County law enforcement agency on the list. But the records exclude agencies that use Flock without sharing their data with MSP, so absence from the list does not establish that an agency has no cameras or access to the network.
MLive obtained the records through a Freedom of Information Act request and published its findings Oct. 19. Milan spans parts of Washtenaw and Monroe counties.
In an October 2025 Michigan Daily report, Ann Arbor Police Department spokesperson Chris Page said the city did not then use Flock cameras or license plate readers.
Robert Kellar, a spokesperson for the city’s Public Services Department, told the Daily that cameras at some intersections were used to manage traffic signals rather than read license plates.
What the technology records
MLive reported that Flock cameras collect license plate numbers and images containing vehicle characteristics that investigators can search. Agencies with access can look for particular plates or vehicles recorded within a location and time period.
MLive described a 30-day default retention period. Flock’s current evidence policy, however, lists a seven-day default, with retention periods adjustable under customer policies or applicable law.
The Daily’s 2025 report also described Flock cameras used by the Centennial Park Homeowners Association in the Ann Arbor area.
Separately, it reported that the University of Michigan used license plate recognition for parking permits. The report did not identify those parking cameras as Flock products.
Privacy debate and proposed safeguards
Supporters say the technology helps investigators locate stolen vehicles and missing people, while critics raise concerns about broad surveillance and constitutional privacy protections, MLive reported.
Eight local governments ended Flock contracts after Sept. 1 and before MLive’s Oct. 19 report: Eastpointe, South Lyon, Independence Township, Milford, Monroe County, Bedford Township, Adrian and Madison Heights.
State Reps. Jimmie Wilson Jr., D-Ypsilanti, and Doug Wozniak, R-Shelby Township, announced bipartisan legislation Jan. 29 proposing restrictions on automated license plate reader use and data retention, along with public reporting requirements.
A separate privacy case reached the U.S. Supreme Court this year. In Chatrie v. United States, the court ruled June 29 that obtaining the defendant’s Google location-history information constituted a Fourth Amendment search. The decision did not determine the legality of Flock license plate reader networks.
