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Flocked T-County
Tuscarawas County, OH currently has 11 Flock Safety ALPR cameras located on or near public roadways, according to deflock.org.
Based on the public records provided by the Tuscarawas County Sheriff Department, these cameras were purchased (using grant funding) by the Sheriff Department.
The provided records were scanned images of documents. Some documents were processed with AI text recognition and made available in the text-processed directory.
Note
If the PDF files do not display properly on GitHub or Codeberg, the file can be downloaded and opened in any PDF viewer.
Some Highlights
Below are some highlights from the obtained public records.
No suspicion or cause required.
The policy found in the main document clearly states that "reasonable suspicion" or "probable cause" is not required to use an ALPR. This provision does not distinguish between the various ways of "using an ALPR" (searching, hot list alerts, hot list entries, etc.).
This is in stark contrast to the provision in the same policy that considers it a violation to use the system to infringe upon a person's First Amendment rights, or any other Constitutionally guaranteed rights.
I'll just leave this here...
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Related: Chatrie v. United States
Data collection and retention.
The policy found in the main document makes it clear that the ALPR vendor, Flock Safety, will store the data. This is how Flock systems work. The Sheriff's office has no control over the data, though this policy attempts to dictate Flock's behavior.
Whether Flock follows this procedure is unknown. This section of the policy is unenforceable by the Sheriff's office.
Data sharing.
The policy found in the main document states that "camera access" will be granted to ANY requesting agency in Ohio and ANY requesting Federal agency. This policy dictates that other local or state agencies (outside of Ohio) MAY be granted access as it relates to the needs of any official law enforcement investigation. This stipulation is not applied to the Ohio agencies or Federal agencies that request access, so data will potentially be provided for reasons that do not relate to official law enforcement investigations.
They're not just looking for license plates.
The policy found in the main document indicates that "hot list alerts" can be provided for vehichles and for people. The example is for a wanted person, but nothing in the policy precludes other people from being searched.
No System User Monitoring
The policy found in the main document contains no indication that the use of the Flock system is ever reviewed for potential policy violations. The policy outlines a monthly review process of the "hot list entries" to make sure there are no stale entries that could result in a traffic stop, but there is nothing dictating a similar process for reviewing user access, search prompts, or the like.
Available Documents
Below are the documents that are available in the public records directory.
Invoices from Flock Safety
There seems to be three invoices from Flock Safety. Each invoice is for 10 cameras. It is unclear if these are for ten unique cameras for each invoice, or if the subsequent invoices are for contracted billing on the original order.
Invoice dates:
The invoices are in the main document.
The Sheriff's Office Policy/Procedure
This document outlines the Sheriff's rules regarding the purpose and uses of the cameras and system. This policy is dated April 30, 2026.
The policy/procedure is in the main document.
Emails
There are some emails from the Detective in charge of the implementation of the system to other Sheriff's office personnel regarding account creation and tutorial videos.
Emails:
The emails are in the main document.
The "Flock Contract"
This document is from Flock Safety, and it just details the cameras and installation of the cameras. Costs, logistics, placement and mounting tips, etc.
See 2025 Flock Contract.
Flock "Role Optimization"
This document details the various levels of account access potentially given to users of the Flock system.