EL CERRITO — An audit by police into how license plate readers in the city have been used and who has gained access to them has revealed that more than one federal agency tapped into the network to view photos of license plates.

In a statement released Thursday, El Cerrito police said the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the GSA Office of the Inspector General, and the National Parks Service all were able to search license plate photographs that were taken by license plate readers in the city.

Police said the access came between June 2023, when the cameras were first installed, and August 2023, when El Cerrito police took administrative control of them.

The department also said the U.S. Postal System had access to the license plate information between September and November of 2023, and that the Loma Linda Healthcare System Veteran Affairs Police had access for two days in May 2025.

The acknowledgment by police came amid privacy concerns about automated LPRs and similar technologies in Bay Area cities. Like many cities in the Bay Area, El Cerrito has a contract with Flock Safety to provide its LPR systems.

“We at the El Cerrito Police Department regret that our license plate photographs were available to out-of-state and federal law enforcement agencies,” the department said in a statement. “We have been satisfied with the response from Flock Safety and the safeguards and changes they have instituted to keep our data secure from unauthorized access.”

But some Bay Area cities and counties already have decided that the Flock Safety tools are too overreaching.

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors announced Thursday that the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office can no longer use the readers in the West Valley communities of Cupertino and Saratoga.

On Tuesday, the Mountain View City Council voted unanimously to to terminate its LPR contract with Flock Safety. In December, the city of Richmond police suspended their use of the system, because other law enforcement agencies had gained access to camera information.

“This has real consequences,” Flock Safety wrote in a statement to this news organization Friday afternoon. “Cases will take longer to solve, organized retail theft crews will operate with fewer obstacles, an Amber Alert may not be returned home, and victims may wait longer, or indefinitely, for justice.”

Several agencies within the region have expressed that they will keep the equipment.

“While a small number of communities have chosen not to renew their contracts, largely amid misinformation,” the company wrote, “the broader trend is clear: The number of new communities partnering with Flock has significantly outpaced those departures.”

In their statement, El Cerrito police touted the LPRs as an “early warning system for wanted cars as well as an investigative aid in the aftermath of a crime. These cameras take photographs of the rear vehicles and read the license plate. The system does not search or contain information about the drivers or owners of photographed vehicles.”

El Cerrito police said they do share data with other California law enforcement agencies, including state, county and municipal agencies. But they added that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service had access to the license plate photos from September to November of 2023, and that the Loma Linda Healthcare System Veteran Affairs Police had access for two days in May 2025.

According to police, Flock safety representatives told them the U.S. Postal Inspection Service showed up in state-only searches because of early settings created by the company and that those settings have been fixed. Police said Flock also explained that the system may have misidentified the Loma Linda Healthcare System Veterans Affairs Police as a state agency.

“Based on this review, no federal immigration agencies searched ECPD LPR records,” the department said. “Flock Satety has instituted additional safeguards to prevent recurrences of these incidents.”

Police said they will hold a public meeting to discuss the situation and answer questions from residents.

The meeting will be held March 10 at 4 p.m. at Hana Gardens Community Room at 10870 San Pablo Ave.