Who runs license plate readers in Merced County?
- Active Flock license plate readers
- Agency
- Atwater Police Department
- Vendor
- Flock Safety
- Devices
- —
-
- Agency
- Merced Police Department
- Vendor
- Motorola Solutions Vigilant
- Devices
- —
- Active License plate readers
- Agency
- University of California, Merced Police Department, UC Merced Transportation and Parking Services
- Vendor
- Motorola Solutions
- Devices
- —
- Expanding Flock license plate readers
- Agency
- Merced County Sheriff's Office
- Vendor
- Flock Safety
- Devices
- —
| System | Agency | Vendor | Status | Devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flock license plate readers | Atwater Police Department | Flock Safety | Active | — |
| Vigilant license plate readers | Merced Police Department | Motorola Solutions Vigilant | Active | — |
| License plate readers | University of California, Merced Police Department, UC Merced Transportation and Parking Services | Motorola Solutions | Active | — |
| Flock license plate readers | Merced County Sheriff's Office | Flock Safety | Expanding | — |
Also listed here because the record shows it
These systems are documented primarily as something else. They appear here because a cited record shows the deployment also does this.
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The approved package includes Axon fleet cameras with license plate recognition.
On the map
- 0
- Verified by us
- 62
- Community-reported
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), including community reporting via the DeFlock project. Tiles by OpenFreeMap.
What we do not know
Atwater Police
- Is current retention configured for 30 days, 120 days, or another period?
- What is the current sharing list, and which agencies have run searches?
- Are all eight cameras installed and operational at the two named intersections?
- What do current audits, access logs, hotlist rules, and renewal records show?
Merced Police
- What does the current ALPR Agency Report say about retention, searches, sharing, and audits?
- Which federal connections existed, when were they enabled, and which searches were run?
- What configuration and policy changes were completed after the April 2026 statement?
- How many fixed and mobile cameras are operational?
UC Merced Police and UC Merced TAPS
- What agencies searched or received UC Merced ALPR data before May 26, 2026?
- What have periodic audits found, and when will audit summaries be published?
- How many fixed, mobile, and parking-enforcement readers are active?
- What vendor agreement, data-hosting terms, and deletion verification govern the system?
Merced County Sheriff
- Why does the portal state 30-day retention while Policy 462 states at least one year?
- Which 22 sites are active, and which cameras are fixed, mobile, or shared from another agency?
- What do the executed contract, amendments, invoices, and device schedule contain?
- Which agencies have searched the system, for what purposes, and what have audits found?
Axon body cameras and connected camera tools [Merced Police]
- What does each product and service cost within the bundled agreement?
- How many fleet cameras have license plate reading enabled, and what governs their data?
- Which feeds are connected to Fusus, who can view them, and how is access audited?
- What retention settings and external access roles are configured in Evidence.com?
What license plate readers are
An automated license plate reader photographs every passing vehicle and records the plate, the time and the place. It does not watch suspects. It logs everyone, and the record is usually kept on a vendor’s servers.
How they work, why agencies buy them, and every county we have documented →
What you can do
Civic action
Show up
This technology is bought and renewed by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have not yet confirmed where each of them meets in Merced County.
Go to the Merced County hub →Personal protection
Protect yourself
Practical steps to shrink your personal data trail. Our guides publish at launch; until then, EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense is the best starting point.
Surveillance Self-Defense ↗