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Auburn Police | License plate readers

Auburn's Policy 469 keeps license plate reader data for at least a year and states that "Reasonable suspicion or probable cause is not required before using an ALPR." The 2025-2026 civil grand jury reported that the Sheriff's Office turned off the department's access to real-time alerts for approximately two years, then restored it during the investigation.

At a glance

Vendor
Flock Safety, on the basis of the Placer County Sheriff's March 2023 memo, which names Auburn among the departments already using the camera [3]
Retention
At least one year. "All ALPR data downloaded to the server should be stored for a minimum of one year" (Policy 469) [1]
Suspicion required to use
None. "Reasonable suspicion or probable cause is not required before using an ALPR" (Policy 469) [1]
Sharing stated in policy
Data "may be shared only with other law enforcement or prosecutorial agencies for official law enforcement purposes or as otherwise permitted by law" (Policy 469.7) [1]
Access to the Sheriff's real-time alerts
The 2025-2026 civil grand jury reported that this access was turned off for approximately two years and restored during its investigation [2]
Responses due to the grand jury
The police chief and the mayor by August 31, 2026; the City Council by September 28, 2026 [2]
Camera count, contract and cost
not in any record we fetched

How it happened

  1. Context

    Named as a Flock user in the Sheriff's memo

    A Placer County Sheriff's memo to the Board lists Auburn among the police departments already using the Flock Safety license plate reader camera. [3]

  2. Incident

    Grand jury reports the department lost real-time access

    The 2025-2026 civil grand jury reported that "for approximately two years, the Placer County Sheriff's Office turned off Auburn Police Department's access to the real-time notifications and alerts flagged by Placer County Sheriff's Office cameras," and that the access was restored during the investigation. [2]

An automated license plate reader photographs passing vehicles and records the plate, the time and the place.

What the policy says

Policy 469 of the department’s published manual states that “Reasonable suspicion or probable cause is not required before using an ALPR,” that “All ALPR data downloaded to the server should be stored for a minimum of one year,” and, at 469.7, that “The ALPR data may be shared only with other law enforcement or prosecutorial agencies for official law enforcement purposes or as otherwise permitted by law”.[1] The policy sets no geographic limit on who may receive the data.

What the grand jury reported

The Placer County Civil Grand Jury gave pages 17 to 35 of its 2025-2026 final report to the Sheriff’s Office and this department. Its summary states that “After concerns that Auburn Police Department was operating outside of its jurisdiction, for approximately two years, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office turned off Auburn Police Department’s access to the real-time notifications and alerts flagged by Placer County Sheriff’s Office cameras,” and that “During the grand jury’s investigation, the access was restored.” Finding F1 is that the denial of access “has led to an adverse impact on Auburn Police Department’s ability to carry out its law enforcement objectives.” Recommendation R1 asks the two agencies to share real-time license plate reader data, automated vehicle locator data and LawNet by October 1, 2026, R2 asks for a joint task force by the same date, R3 for policies by February 1, 2027 and R4 for a memorandum of understanding by April 1, 2027. Responses are required from the police chief and the mayor by August 31, 2026, and from the City Council by September 28, 2026.[2] These are the grand jury’s findings, not ours.

The report faults Auburn as well as the Sheriff. Finding F5 is that F5. Auburn Police Department’s operation outside of the City of Auburn without advising Placer County Sheriff’s Office dispatch of its presence has resulted in the appearance of Auburn Police Department officers hiding their activities from Placer County Sheriff’s Office, and caused unnecessary management and control burdens on Placer County Sheriff’s Office.[2]

What it does not establish

The vendor here rests on one line in a county document: a Placer County Sheriff’s memo of March 2023 names Auburn among the police departments already using the Flock Safety camera.[3] No Auburn agreement, camera count, camera location or cost figure was in any record we fetched. No response to the grand jury is in those records either.

Questions

Does Auburn Police Department use license plate readers?
Yes. Policy 469 of the department's published manual governs their use, and a Placer County Sheriff's memo of March 2023 names Auburn among the departments using the Flock Safety camera. How many cameras the department runs is not in any record we fetched. [1] [3]
How long does Auburn keep the data?
Policy 469 states that "All ALPR data downloaded to the server should be stored for a minimum of one year." [1]
Does an officer need a reason to run a search?
Policy 469 states that "Reasonable suspicion or probable cause is not required before using an ALPR." Sharing is limited by 469.7 to "other law enforcement or prosecutorial agencies for official law enforcement purposes or as otherwise permitted by law". [1]
What did the grand jury say about Auburn's access to county cameras?
The 2025-2026 civil grand jury reported that the Sheriff's Office turned off the department's access to real-time notifications and alerts for approximately two years, and restored it during the investigation. Finding F1 is that the denial "has led to an adverse impact on Auburn Police Department's ability to carry out its law enforcement objectives." [2]

On the map

The community has mapped 248 devices of this type in the county on OpenStreetMap. These are community reports: the vendor and operator of each point are unverified, and none is confirmed to belong to this system. See them on the map →

Street names from reverse geocoding — © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

What we do not know

What you can do

Show up

Systems like this one are approved by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have not yet confirmed where each of them meets in Placer County.

What we have documented in Placer County →

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 →

Sources

  1. 1.
    Auburn Police Department Policy Manual (Lexipol, 2023-12-27), Policy 469, Automated License Plate Readers · Primary document · · accessed · archived copy
  2. 2.
    Placer County Civil Grand Jury, 2025-2026 Final Report, "Placer County Sheriff's Office and Auburn Police Department: An Opportunity for Improved Public Safety", pp. 17-35 · Primary document · accessed · archived copy
  3. 3.
    Placer County Sheriff's Office memo to the Board of Supervisors, item 24B, Flock Group Inc. Agreement, March 28, 2023 · Meeting record · · accessed · archived copy

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