Pleasanton
ALPR program.
What Pleasanton's own records say about its automated license plate reader program.
What is an ALPR? What is Flock?
An ALPR captures license plates and vehicle information and makes those observations searchable. Pleasanton's July 17, 2026 memo states that the City currently uses Flock Safety ALPR technology.
Pleasanton retains Flock ALPR data for thirty days
The City's July 17, 2026 memorandum states that the current Flock system retains data collected for thirty days.
The same memo says the prior Vigilant system also retained data for thirty days. That current statement supersedes the older 2023 presentation's description of a two-year Vigilant retention period.
Our campaign position: 30 days is 30 days too many for people suspected of no crime.
What does “deleted after X days” actually mean?
A stated retention period normally describes how long ALPR data is kept under the system's ordinary retention policy. It should not automatically be interpreted to mean that every copy of the data becomes permanently and irretrievably destroyed when that period expires.
When litigation is pending or reasonably anticipated, potentially relevant information may become subject to a litigation hold, suspending its ordinary disposition. Investigations, evidentiary requirements, subpoenas and other lawful preservation requirements may also result in particular information being retained beyond the normal retention period.
Electronic information may also exist in more than one place: production systems, backups, replicas, exports, investigative files, evidence repositories, or copies previously provided to another agency. Deleting a record from the primary ALPR system therefore does not, by itself, establish that every copy has ceased to exist or that no recoverable copy remains.
The public deserves specific answers:
- What exactly happens when the stated retention period expires?
- Is the information removed from a searchable database, or actually destroyed?
- Are backups, replicas and exported copies also deleted?
- What happens to information already shared with another agency?
- What circumstances suspend ordinary deletion?
- How long can information subject to a litigation hold, investigation or evidentiary requirement remain?
- Can information described as “deleted” remain technically recoverable?
- Who independently verifies that deletion actually occurred?
- What technical standard determines when the data is considered irrecoverable?
- Who bears the cost of auditing and verifying that process?
It is a rule governing ordinary disposition.
When you tell the public “30 days” or “one year,” what exactly happens on day 31 or day 366?
An important distinction: This does not mean that every deleted record must always be recovered or produced. Preservation and production obligations depend on the facts, applicable law, relevance, accessibility, proportionality, legal control, court orders and other circumstances. The narrower point is that expiration of an ordinary retention period does not, by itself, establish that the information no longer exists, cannot be recovered, or cannot be preserved longer when a legal obligation requires it.
California is actively enforcing the sharing restrictions
The California Attorney General has pursued enforcement against El Cajon over alleged out-of-state ALPR sharing. That does not establish a violation by Pleasanton's current Flock system.
54-camera replacement program
In 2025 Pleasanton moved to a five-year Flock agreement including 54 replacement ALPR cameras. The July 2026 memo says the transition had been largely completed.
Five-year agreement up to $639,760
The 2025 Flock agreement was reported as a five-year contract with a maximum value of $639,760.