{"id":"AIBD-1141","title":"Austin's City Auditor finds that APD's license plate readers led to 165 arrests and about 133 prosecutions from March to December 2024","summary":"Austin's City Auditor found that APD's license plate readers led to 165 arrests, about 133 prosecutions and the recovery of a missing or endangered person from March to December 2024.","date_observed":"2024-01-01","date_basis":"event","date_precision":"year","benefit_status":"reported","source_collection":null,"source_entry":null,"account":"Austin's City Council let the Austin Police Department (APD) run automated license plate readers in a one-year trial from March 2024. Flock Safety supplied 40 fixed cameras, and Axon cameras on patrol vehicles went live in the third quarter. The cameras checked plates against hotlists, and APD kept the data for seven days. In an audit published in May 2025, the City Auditor checked APD's figures for March to December 2024 against Flock data and stop forms. The auditor found that the program led to 165 arrests, about 133 prosecutions and the recovery of a missing or endangered person. Across 13,122 hotlist matches and 286 stops, it found no incorrect or unjustified stop. The prosecution counts came from public information requests and are estimates. Staff did not pull scan data before Flock deleted it after seven days, so the auditor could not verify the Flock scan totals. The auditor also found that the Flock contract may leave motorists' data open to unintended use. The audit makes no comparison with policing without the readers.","category":"aggregate result","unexpected":false,"purpose":"Flock Safety and Axon built automated license plate readers to photograph passing plates and alert police when a plate matches a hotlist.","system":"Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) program with Flock Safety fixed cameras and Axon vehicle-mounted cameras","model_version":null,"developer":"Flock Safety (fixed cameras and ALPR service) and Axon Enterprise (vehicle-mounted cameras)","deployer":"Austin Police Department (APD)","location":"Austin, Texas, United States","domain":"Policing","segment":null,"benefit_type":"Reduced Violence","work_activities":["4.A.1.b.1","4.A.1.a.2"],"taxonomy_note":"The audit counts arrests, prosecutions and a recovered person, read as action against crime. It does not measure any fall in crime.","registry_ids":{},"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"The auditor found that plate-reader matches led APD to 165 arrests and about 133 prosecutions from March to December 2024."},{"group":"personal","depth":null,"reason":"The audit counts the recovery of a missing or endangered person in the third quarter and gives no detail of the case."},{"group":"societal","depth":null,"reason":"The audit does not measure whether the arrests reduced crime in Austin."}],"ai_role":{"status":"unassessed","statement":"The auditor counted the outcomes of plate-reader matches and checked APD's figures against Flock data and stop forms. It made no comparison with policing without the readers. The audit describes cameras that photograph plates and record the vehicle type, and it does not say how they read plates or whether the software learned from data."},"evidence":[{"kind":"audit report","citation":"City of Austin Office of the City Auditor. APD License Plate Reader. Audit Report, May 2025. Finding 1, Resolution item C and Exhibit 3, pp. 6-7. The auditor analyzed Flock ALPR data and APD Risk Management's quarterly audits for March to December 2024.","title":"APD License Plate Reader","url":"https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=452710","date":"2025-05-01","written_by":"independent","quote":"APD's ALPR program resulted in 165 arrests, approximately 133 prosecutions, and 1 missing/endangered person recovered."},{"kind":"audit report","citation":"City of Austin Office of the City Auditor. APD License Plate Reader. Audit Report, May 2025. Finding 1, Resolution item B, p. 6. The auditor reviewed all 286 Hit Stop Forms from the three quarters.","title":"APD License Plate Reader","url":"https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=452710","date":"2025-05-01","written_by":"independent","quote":"We found that APD's ALPR program used 3 hotlists, found 13,122 matches, and resulted in 0 incorrect or unjustified stops."},{"kind":"audit report","citation":"City of Austin Office of the City Auditor. APD License Plate Reader. Audit Report, May 2025. Finding 1, Resolution item A, p. 5. Because of these gaps, the auditor could not verify the number of Flock scans.","title":"APD License Plate Reader","url":"https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=452710","date":"2025-05-01","written_by":"independent","quote":"Due to a lack of understanding of the deletion period and scheduling failures, all original data was not pulled and stored across all three quarters of the trial period.","supports_benefit":false}],"replication":{"produced_by":["Forty fixed Flock cameras from March 2024, and Axon cameras on patrol vehicles from the third quarter, scanned plates and checked them against NCIC, NCMEC and APD hotlists.","Officers filed a Hit Stop Form for every stop made on a plate-reader hit, and APD Risk Management audited the program every quarter."],"must_hold":["Officers may use the data to detain or arrest only for felonies, Class A or Class B misdemeanors and Class C and D hate or sex crimes.","Scan data must be pulled before Flock deletes it after seven days, or the program's figures cannot be verified."],"echoes":[]},"paired_incident":null,"headline":"Austin's *license plate readers* led to 165 arrests in a 2024 trial","metric":"165 arrests, about 133 prosecutions","comparator":null,"later":null,"value":null,"developer_country":"United States","deployer_country":"United States","unrated_because":null,"brief_notes":null,"brief":null,"revisions":[{"date":"2026-11-01","change":"Added the record from the finding of the City of Austin Office of the City Auditor.","source":"https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=452710","editor":"AIBD"}],"confidence":"found","shade":"high","claim_status":"Found by an auditor","claim_basis":"Sources: one independent audit report. For the benefit itself, the cited sources include no independent study or report.","case_jurisdictions":["United States"],"profile":{"case_id":"AIBD-1141","catalog_version":"1.0.0","source_fingerprint":"95db3379076b7010cbf6ea95a7dbdf983bbd8d1cf68f65954738d4ba47f2a3b5","collection_refs":[{"collection_id":"aibd","version":"2026-10-31"},{"collection_id":"querist","version":"2026-10-25"}],"source_ids":["AIBD-1141-source-0001","AIBD-1141-source-0002","AIBD-1141-source-0003"],"families":{"strategic assessments":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"Editorial assignment.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","record_ids":[]},"evaluations":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"Editorial assignment.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","record_ids":[]},"monetary observations":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"Editorial assignment.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","record_ids":[]},"institutional decisions":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"Editorial assignment.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","record_ids":[]}},"fields":{"actors[]":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"developer":"Flock Safety (fixed cameras and ALPR service) and Axon Enterprise (vehicle-mounted cameras)","deployer":"Austin Police Department (APD)"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["developer","deployer"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"actors[].ownership_control":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"ai_contribution":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"ai_relationship":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"category":"aggregate result","ai_role":{"status":"unassessed","statement":"The auditor counted the outcomes of plate-reader matches and checked APD's figures against Flock data and stop forms. It made no comparison with policing without the readers. The audit describes cameras that photograph plates and record the vehicle type, and it does not say how they read plates or whether the software learned from data."}}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ai_role","category"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].alternatives":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].assessor_date":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].depth":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"The auditor found that plate-reader matches led APD to 165 arrests and about 133 prosecutions from March to December 2024."},{"group":"personal","reason":"The audit counts the recovery of a missing or endangered person in the third quarter and gives no detail of the case."},{"group":"societal","reason":"The audit does not measure whether the arrests reduced crime in Austin."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ratings"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].display_confidence":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"structured","data":{"confidence":"high","evidence_word":"found","claim_status":"Found by an auditor","basis":"Sources: one independent audit report. For the benefit itself, the cited sources include no independent study or report.","interpretation":"Existing display rule preserved; the richer outcome-specific confidence question still needs review."}},"provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].rationale":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"The auditor found that plate-reader matches led APD to 165 arrests and about 133 prosecutions from March to December 2024."},{"group":"personal","reason":"The audit counts the recovery of a missing or endangered person in the third quarter and gives no detail of the case."},{"group":"societal","reason":"The audit does not measure whether the arrests reduced crime in Austin."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ratings"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].rubric_version":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].status_basis":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].target":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"The auditor found that plate-reader matches led APD to 165 arrests and about 133 prosecutions from March to December 2024."},{"group":"personal","reason":"The audit counts the recovery of a missing or endangered person in the third quarter and gives no detail of the case."},{"group":"societal","reason":"The audit does not measure whether the arrests reduced crime in Austin."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ratings"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"availability":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"brief":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"case_kind":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"case_links[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"claims[].evidence_links":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"claims[].evidence_strength":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"structured","data":{"answer":"Found by an auditor. Sources: one independent audit report. For the benefit itself, the cited sources include no independent study or report.","evidence_word":"found","claim_status":"Found by an auditor"}},"provenance":{"kind":"source_review","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["evidence"],"source_refs":["AIBD-1141-source-0001","AIBD-1141-source-0002","AIBD-1141-source-0003"],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-29"},"review_state":"reviewed","coverage":"complete","display":{"answer":"Found by an auditor. Sources: one independent audit report. For the benefit itself, the cited sources include no independent study or report.","inferred":false}},"claims[].missingness":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"claims[].proposition":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"cross_border_flows[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"decisions[].action_outcome":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"institutional decisions"},"decisions[].grounds":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"institutional decisions"},"decisions[].institution_task":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"institutional decisions"},"decisions[].success_criterion":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"institutional decisions"},"deployment_stage":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"structured","data":{"classification":"pilot","answer":"The system was used in a pilot. The City Council authorized the program as a one-year trial from March 2024 to March 2025.","scope":"The period and activity described in the case."}},"provenance":{"kind":"source_review","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["account","evidence"],"source_refs":["AIBD-1141-source-0001"],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-29"},"review_state":"reviewed","coverage":"complete","display":{"answer":"The system was used in a pilot. The City Council authorized the program as a one-year trial from March 2024 to March 2025.","inferred":false}},"economics[].amount":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].costs[]":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].counterfactual":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].currency_price_basis":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].gross_net":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].measure_type":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].period_unit":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].realization":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].recipient_payer":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].return_payback":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].valuation_method":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"evaluations[].ai_uplift":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].comparator":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].design":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].effect":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].exposure":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].id":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].measurement_method":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].metric":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].reproduction_materials":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].setting_sample":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].uncertainty_limitations":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"external_references[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"follow_up[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"human_oversight":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"id":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"id":"AIBD-1141"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["id"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"infrastructure_dependencies[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].beneficiaries":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].beneficiary_count":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].benefit_type":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"benefit_type":"Reduced Violence","taxonomy_note":"The audit counts arrests, prosecutions and a recovered person, read as action against crime. It does not measure any fall in crime."}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["benefit_type","taxonomy_note"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].claim":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"account":"Austin's City Council let the Austin Police Department (APD) run automated license plate readers in a one-year trial from March 2024. Flock Safety supplied 40 fixed cameras, and Axon cameras on patrol vehicles went live in the third quarter. The cameras checked plates against hotlists, and APD kept the data for seven days. In an audit published in May 2025, the City Auditor checked APD's figures for March to December 2024 against Flock data and stop forms. The auditor found that the program led to 165 arrests, about 133 prosecutions and the recovery of a missing or endangered person. Across 13,122 hotlist matches and 286 stops, it found no incorrect or unjustified stop. The prosecution counts came from public information requests and are estimates. Staff did not pull scan data before Flock deleted it after seven days, so the auditor could not verify the Flock scan totals. The auditor also found that the Flock contract may leave motorists' data open to unintended use. The audit makes no comparison with policing without the readers.","benefit_type":"Reduced Violence"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["account","benefit_type"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].distribution":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].duration":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].id":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].stakeholder_group":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"The auditor found that plate-reader matches led APD to 165 arrests and about 133 prosecutions from March to December 2024."},{"group":"personal","reason":"The audit counts the recovery of a missing or endangered person in the third quarter and gives no detail of the case."},{"group":"societal","reason":"The audit does not measure whether the arrests reduced crime in Austin."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ratings"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].status":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"benefit_status":"reported"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["benefit_status"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].tradeoffs":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].unexpected":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"unexpected":false,"purpose":"Flock Safety and Axon built automated license plate readers to photograph passing plates and alert police when a plate matches a hotlist."}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["unexpected","purpose"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"places[]":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"location":"Austin, Texas, United States","developer_country":"United States","deployer_country":"United States"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["location","developer_country","deployer_country"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"purpose":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"purpose":"Flock Safety and Axon built automated license plate readers to photograph passing plates and alert police when a plate matches a hotlist."}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["purpose"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"record_dates":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"date_observed":"2024-01-01","date_basis":"event","date_precision":"year","revisions":[{"date":"2026-11-01","change":"Added the record from the finding of the City of Austin Office of the City Auditor.","source":"https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=452710","editor":"AIBD"}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["date_observed","date_basis","date_precision","revisions"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"replication.attempts[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"replication.conditions":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"replication":{"produced_by":["Forty fixed Flock cameras from March 2024, and Axon cameras on patrol vehicles from the third quarter, scanned plates and checked them against NCIC, NCMEC and APD hotlists.","Officers filed a Hit Stop Form for every stop made on a plate-reader hit, and APD Risk Management audited the program every quarter."],"must_hold":["Officers may use the data to detain or arrest only for felonies, Class A or Class B misdemeanors and Class C and D hate or sex crimes.","Scan data must be pulled before Flock deletes it after seven days, or the program's figures cannot be verified."],"echoes":[]}}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["replication"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"revision_history[]":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"revisions":[{"date":"2026-11-01","change":"Added the record from the finding of the City of Austin Office of the City Auditor.","source":"https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=452710","editor":"AIBD"}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["revisions"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"sector":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"domain":"Policing"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["domain"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].access_version":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].citation_locator":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"evidence":[{"kind":"audit report","citation":"City of Austin Office of the City Auditor. APD License Plate Reader. Audit Report, May 2025. Finding 1, Resolution item C and Exhibit 3, pp. 6-7. The auditor analyzed Flock ALPR data and APD Risk Management's quarterly audits for March to December 2024.","title":"APD License Plate Reader","url":"https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=452710","date":"2025-05-01","written_by":"independent","quote":"APD's ALPR program resulted in 165 arrests, approximately 133 prosecutions, and 1 missing/endangered person recovered."},{"kind":"audit report","citation":"City of Austin Office of the City Auditor. APD License Plate Reader. Audit Report, May 2025. Finding 1, Resolution item B, p. 6. The auditor reviewed all 286 Hit Stop Forms from the three quarters.","title":"APD License Plate Reader","url":"https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=452710","date":"2025-05-01","written_by":"independent","quote":"We found that APD's ALPR program used 3 hotlists, found 13,122 matches, and resulted in 0 incorrect or unjustified stops."},{"kind":"audit report","citation":"City of Austin Office of the City Auditor. APD License Plate Reader. Audit Report, May 2025. Finding 1, Resolution item A, p. 5. Because of these gaps, the auditor could not verify the number of Flock scans.","title":"APD License Plate Reader","url":"https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=452710","date":"2025-05-01","written_by":"independent","quote":"Due to a lack of understanding of the deletion period and scheduling failures, all original data was not pulled and stored across all three quarters of the trial period.","supports_benefit":false}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["evidence"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].id":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"identifiers","identifiers":["AIBD-1141-source-0001","AIBD-1141-source-0002","AIBD-1141-source-0003"],"role":"Existing evidence items, in their original order"},"provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"complete"},"sources[].language":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].relationship":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"evidence":[{"kind":"audit report","citation":"City of Austin Office of the City Auditor. APD License Plate Reader. Audit Report, May 2025. Finding 1, Resolution item C and Exhibit 3, pp. 6-7. The auditor analyzed Flock ALPR data and APD Risk Management's quarterly audits for March to December 2024.","title":"APD License Plate Reader","url":"https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=452710","date":"2025-05-01","written_by":"independent","quote":"APD's ALPR program resulted in 165 arrests, approximately 133 prosecutions, and 1 missing/endangered person recovered."},{"kind":"audit report","citation":"City of Austin Office of the City Auditor. APD License Plate Reader. Audit Report, May 2025. Finding 1, Resolution item B, p. 6. The auditor reviewed all 286 Hit Stop Forms from the three quarters.","title":"APD License Plate Reader","url":"https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=452710","date":"2025-05-01","written_by":"independent","quote":"We found that APD's ALPR program used 3 hotlists, found 13,122 matches, and resulted in 0 incorrect or unjustified stops."},{"kind":"audit report","citation":"City of Austin Office of the City Auditor. APD License Plate Reader. Audit Report, May 2025. Finding 1, Resolution item A, p. 5. Because of these gaps, the auditor could not verify the number of Flock scans.","title":"APD License Plate Reader","url":"https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=452710","date":"2025-05-01","written_by":"independent","quote":"Due to a lack of understanding of the deletion period and scheduling failures, all original data was not pulled and stored across all three quarters of the trial period.","supports_benefit":false}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["evidence"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].upstream_sources":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"strategic_assessments[]":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"strategic assessments"},"summary":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"summary":"Austin's City Auditor found that APD's license plate readers led to 165 arrests, about 133 prosecutions and the recovery of a missing or endangered person from March to December 2024.","account":"Austin's City Council let the Austin Police Department (APD) run automated license plate readers in a one-year trial from March 2024. Flock Safety supplied 40 fixed cameras, and Axon cameras on patrol vehicles went live in the third quarter. The cameras checked plates against hotlists, and APD kept the data for seven days. In an audit published in May 2025, the City Auditor checked APD's figures for March to December 2024 against Flock data and stop forms. The auditor found that the program led to 165 arrests, about 133 prosecutions and the recovery of a missing or endangered person. Across 13,122 hotlist matches and 286 stops, it found no incorrect or unjustified stop. The prosecution counts came from public information requests and are estimates. Staff did not pull scan data before Flock deleted it after seven days, so the auditor could not verify the Flock scan totals. The auditor also found that the Flock contract may leave motorists' data open to unintended use. The audit makes no comparison with policing without the readers."}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["summary","account"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].autonomy_permissions":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].component_role":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].deployment_configuration":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].inputs_outputs":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].model_name":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].model_version":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].product_name":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"system":"Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) program with Flock Safety fixed cameras and Axon vehicle-mounted cameras"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["system"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].provider":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"taxonomy_crosswalks[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"title":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"title":"Austin's City Auditor finds that APD's license plate readers led to 165 arrests and about 133 prosecutions from March to December 2024","headline":"Austin's *license plate readers* led to 165 arrests in a 2024 trial"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["title","headline"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"version":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"identifiers","identifiers":["04bfed5c8ea4c7edec3bc0987ded473278d34fd95e52b632ad04921926446f67"],"role":"SHA-256 of the complete public record and its assessments"},"provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"SHA-256 of the public record, its assessments, and its displayed answers and notes, excluding its own identifier and the derived coverage summary.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"complete"},"workflow":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"account":"Austin's City Council let the Austin Police Department (APD) run automated license plate readers in a one-year trial from March 2024. Flock Safety supplied 40 fixed cameras, and Axon cameras on patrol vehicles went live in the third quarter. The cameras checked plates against hotlists, and APD kept the data for seven days. In an audit published in May 2025, the City Auditor checked APD's figures for March to December 2024 against Flock data and stop forms. The auditor found that the program led to 165 arrests, about 133 prosecutions and the recovery of a missing or endangered person. Across 13,122 hotlist matches and 286 stops, it found no incorrect or unjustified stop. The prosecution counts came from public information requests and are estimates. Staff did not pull scan data before Flock deleted it after seven days, so the auditor could not verify the Flock scan totals. The auditor also found that the Flock contract may leave motorists' data open to unintended use. The audit makes no comparison with policing without the readers.","replication":{"produced_by":["Forty fixed Flock cameras from March 2024, and Axon cameras on patrol vehicles from the third quarter, scanned plates and checked them against NCIC, NCMEC and APD hotlists.","Officers filed a Hit Stop Form for every stop made on a plate-reader hit, and APD Risk Management audited the program every quarter."],"must_hold":["Officers may use the data to detain or arrest only for felonies, Class A or Class B misdemeanors and Class C and D hate or sex crimes.","Scan data must be pulled before Flock deletes it after seven days, or the program's figures cannot be verified."],"echoes":[]}}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["account","replication"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"}},"summary":{"total":91,"addressed":91,"known":28,"reviewed":2,"reviewed_complete":2,"reviewed_partial":0,"record_mapped":26,"review_not_assessed":63,"not_assessed":0,"complete":false,"by_state":{"value_present":28,"not_reported":0,"unresolved":63,"not_assessed":0,"not_applicable":0,"withheld":0,"source_unavailable":0}}},"presentation_version":"ad33a5a4f1e63b9c7f4a28ef825a571b2b581ba0c00077c015ac383346fa6191"}