Police Chief to Update Public Safety Committee on Flock Automated License Plate Reader Program

Chief of Police Gene Harris is scheduled to present a continued update on the Pasadena Police Department’s Flock Safety automated license plate reader program when the Public Safety Committee meets Wednesday. The presentation, listed as an information-only item, will cover search activity, audit findings, alert data, vehicle recovery statistics, crime clearance rates, and new camera installations.

Because the Public Safety Committee is an advisory body, the item does not involve a vote or recommendation. The City Council retains final authority over any policy decisions that may arise from the discussion.

According to the presentation, a Flock audit showed more than 5 million network searches conducted in 2025 by authorized California law enforcement agencies that included the Pasadena Police Department’s automated license plate reader camera network. The audit found no violations of Senate Bill 34 or Senate Bill 54, confirmed that the system was not used for immigration enforcement or reproductive health investigations, and noted increased safeguards to ensure privacy and compliance with state laws.

The presentation reports that zero out-of-state agency searches were identified during the audit. Two searches were associated with Veterans Affairs Police, a federal facility police force out of Loma Linda, representing a search rate of 0.000039%.

The Pasadena Police Department conducted a total of 18,648 automated license plate reader searches in 2025, with monthly totals ranging from 534 in January to 3,041 in December. In the first quarter of 2026, the department conducted 9,162 searches, including 3,237 in January, 3,621 in February, and 2,304 in March. The top search categories in 2025 were larceny and theft, vehicle theft, and investigation. In 2026, the top search reasons included drugs and narcotics with 2,334 searches, motor vehicle theft and stolen vehicles with 1,430, weapons offenses with 892, protective and protection orders with 800, and larceny and theft offenses with 741.

The Flock Safety system generated a total of 183,685 hotlist alerts between Sept. 1, 2023, and April 6, 2026, of which 73,783 were official hotlist alerts, 3,603 were custom hotlist alerts, and 106,299 were other custom hotlist alerts on the department’s networks. Alerts by topic included 106,299 non-owned custom hotlist alerts, 71,573 stolen plate alerts, 3,603 custom hotlist alerts, 2,129 stolen vehicle alerts, and 81 felony vehicle alerts.

The presentation highlights the impact of the Flock system on vehicle recoveries. More than 30% of stolen vehicles recovered in Pasadena in 2025 were found from a Flock automated license plate reader alert, representing 27 out of 89 recovered stolen vehicles and approximately $700,000 in recovered stolen property. In 2026 so far, four out of 21 recovered stolen vehicles were found from Flock alerts. The presentation notes that the Flock system is the top single resource for Pasadena Police Department vehicle recoveries, with other recoveries attributed to officer observations, suspicious vehicle calls, and follow-up investigations.

The department’s crime clearance rates have also shown improvement over recent years, with the all-offenses clearance rate rising from 28.96% in 2023 to 31.10% in 2024 and 35.26% in 2025. The presentation notes that the national average for all-offenses clearance rates ranges from 20% to 25%.

The department is also planning to install 11 new Flock automated license plate reader cameras, with eight in District 4 spread across two intersections, two in District 5, and one in District 3.

The Public Safety Committee is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, in the Council Chamber, Room S249, Pasadena City Hall, 100 North Garfield Ave., in Pasadena. For more information call (626) 744-7311 or visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/agendas/.