Audit found Elk Grove PD shared license-plate data with 3,600+ outside agencies in 8.3 million searches

On August 3, 2026, the privacy advocacy group DeFlock Elk Grove released a public-records audit finding that the Elk Grove Police Department's Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader network had been searched roughly 8.3 million times by more than 3,600 outside organizations between 2021 and March 2026 -- 97% of all searches on the system, compared to about 3% conducted by Elk Grove PD itself.

The audit, based on records obtained under the California Public Records Act, found more than 1.3 million of those searches were attributed to over 3,200 federal and out-of-state organizations, and about 4.3 million to 290 California agencies that the group said had no data-sharing agreement on file with Elk Grove -- both categories that California's SB 34 generally restricts from receiving automated license-plate-reader data. DeFlock Elk Grove also said the city redacted the reasons given for all 8.3 million searches, but that cross-referencing search-identification numbers with records separately obtained from Woodland, California turned up search reasons including immigration enforcement and federal-agency assistance.

The findings appear to conflict with representations Elk Grove officials made at a March 25, 2026 city council meeting, when the department's Real Time Information Center manager told the council that Elk Grove complied with California law, did not share data outside the state, and shared only with in-state agencies that had agreements on file -- assurances covering the same period the audit found otherwise. Elk Grove operates roughly 90 Flock cameras under a contract now valued at about $1.6 million, and city officials have shown no indication they plan to curtail the program despite the findings.