University of Arizona Police Department acknowledged that before implementing a new policy in October, its system was part of a national information-sharing network used by law enforcement agencies across the country.
Advocates for privacy protections express concern that the information-sharing network threatens personal privacy.
UAPD Public Information Officer Andrew Valenzuela said in an email on Monday that before the new policy, it was part of a national network for sharing data collected on Automated License Plate Readers, or ALPRs, which use cameras to capture computer-readable images of license plates. That data is maintained by a manufacturer called Flock Safety.
The university’s police department created a policy on Oct. 1 for about 60 Flock devices.
UAPD told AZPM in June that they could not publicly disclose the sites of the license plate readers they use, but a map managed by DeFlock, a community-driven project that maps surveillance devices, shows about 60 cameras in the campus vicinity.
Valenzuela said that under the new policy, UAPD will only share information with Arizona law-enforcement agencies with which it has an existing pre-approval.
Any national queries must receive prior approval, he said.
The university police department says the Flock cameras are a component of their public safety strategy and have helped recover stolen vehicles and support efforts to locate missing persons.
In recent months, concerns have grown over what Flock’s License Plate Readers are used for, like potentially aiding immigration authorities as part of President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation efforts.
Reporting by the Electronic Frontier Foundations and 404 Media show that federal immigration authorities had access to a broad swath of data collected on cameras operated by Flock Safety.
According to an EFF analysis, law enforcement agencies used the technology to monitor political demonstrations. The analysis identified 19 agencies that logged dozens of searches associated with the No Kings protests in June and October 2025–including the Arizona Department of Public Safety and Oro Valley Police Department.
“In some cases, law enforcement specifically targeted known activist groups, demonstrating how mass surveillance technology increasingly threatens our freedom to demonstrate,” the report said.
The City of South Tucson recently decided to keep their Flock ALPR systems, for the time being — after previously agreeing to end its contract with Flock earlier this month.
The city council decided to hold off on ending its contract with Flock at its Nov. 18 meeting after multiple South Tucson residents and people who work within the city limits said they were in favor of keeping the controversial license plate readers for safety reasons.
South Tucson Police Commander Raul Navarro said the city has five sets of two cameras placed throughout the city, which is a 1.2-square-mile enclave on Tucson’s south side. He told the council that the cameras have assisted in seven arrests, including three shooting suspects.
“We've also recovered four stolen vehicles and made four arrests with those stolen vehicles. That is four citizens in the city that have gotten their vehicles back,” Navarro said.
The cameras were fully installed on Aug. 11, and each set includes license plate readers that run every passing vehicle’s license plate through national and state databases to check for stolen vehicles, missing persons, wanted persons, and Amber, Silver and Blue alerts, Navarro said.
“During my time in the department, I worked hard to move towards us being self-sufficient and catching up with other agencies,” he said to the council. “We would be the only local agency without them. I urge you to vote to keep them.”
Most law enforcement agencies in the Tucson-area use some sort of license-plate reader technology, though not all use Flock.
The Tucson Police Department says it uses cameras through a company called Verkada along with a third-party integration system through Fūsus.
The Marana Police Department said it uses Vigilant Motorola ALPR systems. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in September that they had no operational cameras. Oro Valley Police Department also said it uses Flock.
