How do Flock cameras use your data in Fresno? Here’s what police chief says
The Fresno Police Department has had a contract with Flock Safety surveillance cameras since 2023, and on Wednesday Police Chief Mindy Casto called a news conference to inform the public about the controversial technology.
The cameras are placed in what Casto described as high-crime areas and are used to reduce retail theft and to help make arrests related to violent crime.
The cameras have been something of sticking point for residents concerned about privacy and the technological creep of the surveillance state. Casto said there has been a swell of concern in the community, and she hoped to dispel misinformation with a news conference.
Police also plan an hourlong informational meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, July 20, at Ted C. Wills Community Center, 770 N. San Pablo Avenue, in Fresno. Casto said the event will take questions from the curious and critical alike.
“It’s not new, but it’s generated a lot of interest around the nation, and more recently here in Fresno, with just a lot of questions,” she said Wednesday. “And I realize as I’m listening to conversations in the community, we really need to make sure we get the facts out there.”
The new conference was scheduled less than 24 hours after a Flock-based event held downtown by Fresno Resistance, a local advocacy group that sprung up in the wake of Border Patrol arrests in the San Joaquin Valley.
How many Flock cameras are there? Where are they?
Police said in a news release there are “approximately 70” cameras around the city. The exact locations were not immediately available, but Casto said they are not difficult to spot and groups critical of the cameras have located many of them.
“I don’t know that it’s something we’ve ever released, but it’s not something secret either,” she said. “And people have been able to figure it out. They’re not really hard to detect.”
What are they used for?
Casto said the cameras are used to read license plates, and Fresno is not equipped to use facial recognition software. She said she believed the cameras have aided in the city’s downward trending crime rate.
There were 22 new murder cases in 2025, a decrease from the previous year and the lowest number since 1974, according to numbers from police. Murder cases across the country have fallen in recent years.
What law enforcement can access them?
The Flock cameras and their data are not shared with agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly called ICE, according to Casto. The city has formal information-sharing agreements with other agencies in the state.
That includes California State Parks, Reedley Police Department, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, Kings County District Attorney’s Office, Hanford PD, Porterville PD, Fowler PD, Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, Atwater PD, Lake County SO, Ukiah PD, San Mateo PD, Turlock PD, Albany PD, Sacramento DA, San Mateo County SO, El Cajon PD, California Highway Patrol, San Luis Obispo PD, Riverside County DA, California Department of Corrections and Madera County SO, according to Fresno police.
The Fresno agreement also includes Dublin police, which is a department under contract with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, and police in Lemoore (Fresno police said that last memorandum of understanding is with the city of Lemoore for access by Lemoore police).
Who at Fresno police can access the data?
The data can be accessed by Fresno officers who have been trained to use that system, Casto said. The system has an “electric audit trail” that tracks which officers have accessed the data.
“Every officer in the Fresno Police Department is prohibited from accessing our database and improperly sharing or using that information,” she said. “We have not had any misconduct cases related to Flock. We have had misconduct cases with officers accessing other databases, and they’ve been disciplined, and that would be the same in this case, and that would include up to and including termination.”
What data is collected?
Flock catches still images of cars for their license plates and other distinct markings, Casto said. The data is stored for 30 days and then destroyed, she said.
How much does the city pay for them?
The city’s three-year contract with Flock goes back to 2023 at about a half million a year. It totals $1.5 million, and Casto said it was paid for through a state Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grant.
She said she would recommend renewing the contract if she were asked as of Wednesday. The City Council would get the final say.
“Absolutely,” she said. “If we want to maintain the violent crime reductions we’ve seen over the last several years, then this is an important tool for that, hands down, without a doubt.”
