{
  "record": {
    "id": "21a88710-1106-4a83-9142-65df979479b1",
    "code": "PAI-21A88710",
    "force": "Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, D.C.)",
    "country": "United States",
    "country_code": "us",
    "is_country": true,
    "region": "Washington, D.C.",
    "technology": "Flock Safety licence plate readers",
    "technology_slug": "flock-safety-alpr",
    "vendor": "Flock Safety",
    "vendor_slug": "flock-safety",
    "programme": "",
    "status": "operational",
    "stage": "in-use",
    "evidence": "journalism",
    "evidence_is_claim": false,
    "since": "2025",
    "legal_basis": "",
    "oversight": "MPD Internal Affairs investigation and internal audit of licence plate reader use (as reported September 2026); questions from Councillor Brooke Pinto",
    "notes": "FOX 5 DC reported on 21 September 2026 that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) uses Flock licence plate reader cameras, deployed in the District in 2025 according to Interim Chief Jeffrey Carroll. In a letter answering questions from Councillor Brooke Pinto, Carroll said the system does not automatically flag misuse but does flag activity for further review, such as a user running a plate several times or for longer than 30 days. MPD's policy, updated in April 2026, allows plate searches only with a legal basis or reasonable suspicion of involvement in a crime. MPD's Internal Affairs division is investigating two potential cases of misuse, one flagged by Flock's auditing tool; MPD ended outside-agency access to its licence plate reader data and began an internal audit, with results expected later in 2026. The DC Police Union has filed a grievance over the use of licence plate readers in an Internal Affairs investigation of a union member; MPD says that use was appropriate. The source does not give the number of cameras. This is a separate record from the existing MPD facial recognition record.",
    "source": "FOX 5 DC, 21 September 2026",
    "source_url": "https://fox5dc.com/news/dc-police-investigate-2-potential-cases-flock-camera-misuse-amid-privacy-concerns",
    "last_checked": "2026-11-06",
    "record_url": "https://www.policeainews.com/tracker/record/21a88710-1106-4a83-9142-65df979479b1"
  },
  "licence": "https://www.policeainews.com/data#licence"
}