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San Joaquin County Sheriff | License plate readers

The Sheriff's Office publishes a one-page license plate reader privacy policy, dated August 6, 2026, which names the office "the owner and operator of the ALPR system" and sets retention at "365 days from the date of capture." Our April 2024 snapshot of the EFF Atlas records 35 Flock Safety readers for the agency and 30-day retention. The two figures are two years apart, and we do not say which describes the system today.

At a glance

Retention, in the office's policy dated 2026-08-06
"ALPR data is retained for 365 days from the date of capture, unless associated with an active investigation, case, or legal hold." [1]
Retention, in our EFF Atlas snapshot, as of April 2024
30 days [2]
What happens after the retention period, in the 2026 policy
"After 365 days, data is automatically purged and cannot be retrieved." [1]
Sharing, in the 2026 policy
"Other law enforcement agencies for official law enforcement purposes; Prosecutors and other authorized entities; As required by court order or law." [1]
Immigration enforcement, in the 2026 policy
"ALPR data will not be used for immigration enforcement or shared with federal agencies for immigration enforcement purposes." [1]
Access, in the 2026 policy
"restricted to sworn personnel and authorized staff who have a valid law enforcement purpose, have completed required training, and are approved to use the system." [1]
Auditing, in the 2026 policy
"All searches and access to ALPR data are logged and auditable. The SJSO conducts regular audits to ensure compliance with this policy and applicable laws." [1]
What a plate match establishes, in the 2026 policy
"ALPR information is an investigative lead only and does not by itself constitute probable cause." [1]
Cameras, in our EFF Atlas snapshot, as of April 2024
35, as of April 2024 [2]
Vendor, in our EFF Atlas snapshot, as of April 2024
Flock Safety, as of April 2024 [2]
Vendor named in the office's own 2023 grant application
"The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office will be purchasing (75) license plate reading cameras from the company Flock Safety during this three year grant period." [3]
Camera locations
the 2026 policy gives none, and no record we fetched lists them [1]
Audit results
the 2026 policy promises regular audits; no audit result, count or summary appears in any record we fetched [1]

How it happened

  1. Context

    The office publishes a one-page license plate reader privacy policy

    The policy describes the office "as the owner and operator of the ALPR system," sets retention at "365 days from the date of capture," states that data "will not be used for immigration enforcement or shared with federal agencies for immigration enforcement purposes," and says that "ALPR information is an investigative lead only and does not by itself constitute probable cause." The date is the file's creation date. [1]

An automated license plate reader is a camera that photographs passing plates, converts them to text, and records where and when each vehicle was seen. The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office publishes a one-page usage and privacy policy for its own readers. The published file carries no text layer, so its words cannot be extracted by software, and we read the document as a page image.[1]

What the policy says

The policy states that the office “uses Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology to assist in our mission to enhance public safety and support lawful law enforcement investigations,” and that it “describes how ALPR data is collected, used, retained, shared, and protected by the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office (SJSO) as the owner and operator of the ALPR system.”[1]

On retention it says “ALPR data is retained for 365 days from the date of capture, unless associated with an active investigation, case, or legal hold,” and that “After 365 days, data is automatically purged and cannot be retrieved.” On sharing it says data “will not be shared except as permitted by law and consistent with this policy,” and lists “Other law enforcement agencies for official law enforcement purposes; Prosecutors and other authorized entities; As required by court order or law.” It adds that “ALPR data will not be used for immigration enforcement or shared with federal agencies for immigration enforcement purposes.”[1]

Access is “restricted to sworn personnel and authorized staff who have a valid law enforcement purpose, have completed required training, and are approved to use the system.” The policy says that “All searches and access to ALPR data are logged and auditable,” that “The SJSO conducts regular audits to ensure compliance with this policy and applicable laws,” and that misuse “will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination and/or criminal prosecution.” On what a match is worth as evidence it says “ALPR information is an investigative lead only and does not by itself constitute probable cause,” and that “Enforcement action will not be taken solely on the basis of ALPR alerts without confirmation.” The last line says the policy “is publicly available on the SJSO website.”[1]

Two retention periods, two years apart

The policy states no camera count, no locations and no vendor. Our snapshot of the EFF Atlas of Surveillance carries the only figures we hold for any of those, and it is dated: the row for this agency reads “As of April 2024, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office operates 35 Flock Safety automated license plate readers. The agency stores ALPR data for 30 days.”[2]

That is 30 days in April 2024 and 365 days in the policy created in August 2026. Both are published here with their dates. Which one describes the system a driver passes today is a question no record we fetched answers.

Who supplies the readers

One primary record we fetched names the company. In its 2023 application to the California Board of State and Community Corrections for Organized Retail Theft grant funding, the office writes that “The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office will be purchasing (75) license plate reading cameras from the company Flock Safety during this three year grant period,” at “approximately $9,000.00 per camera” including installation and service.[3] The same company is the attribution in the April 2024 Atlas row.[2]

An application is a request for money, so that sentence establishes the vendor the office named in 2023 and not a completed purchase. Our page on that application covers what else it asked for.

What it does not establish

The policy promises regular audits. No audit result, count or summary appears in any record we fetched.[1] The page sets no threshold a deputy must meet before running a query, and no record we fetched sets one. The dataset row gives a count as of April 2024 and nothing after that date, so the current size of the system, the locations of its cameras and the agencies that hold access to its data are all open.[2]

Questions

How long does the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office keep license plate reads?
Its own policy, dated August 6, 2026, says data "is retained for 365 days from the date of capture, unless associated with an active investigation, case, or legal hold," and that after 365 days it "is automatically purged and cannot be retrieved." Our snapshot of the EFF Atlas records 30 days for the same agency as of April 2024. Both figures are published here with their dates, and we do not say which governs today. [1] [2]
Can the data be used for immigration enforcement?
The policy says "ALPR data will not be used for immigration enforcement or shared with federal agencies for immigration enforcement purposes." We have read no audit of the account settings that would carry that rule out. [1]
How many readers does the office run, and where are they?
The policy states no count and no locations. Our snapshot of the EFF Atlas records 35 Flock Safety readers for the agency as of April 2024, a dataset figure with its own date rather than a current agency count. [1] [2]
Who supplies the readers?
Flock Safety is the company the office itself named. Its 2023 application for state Organized Retail Theft grant funding says the office "will be purchasing (75) license plate reading cameras from the company Flock Safety during this three year grant period." Our April 2024 snapshot of the EFF Atlas attributes the agency's 35 readers to the same company. The application is a request rather than a purchase record, and the one-page 2026 policy names no vendor at all. [3] [2] [1]
Who can search the data?
Access is "restricted to sworn personnel and authorized staff who have a valid law enforcement purpose, have completed required training, and are approved to use the system," and the policy says all searches "are logged and auditable." What a deputy must show before running a search is not addressed on the page. [1]

On the map

The community has mapped 325 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 San Joaquin County.

What we have documented in San Joaquin 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.
    San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, ALPR Privacy Policy (one page, no text layer, file created 2026-08-06) · Primary document · · accessed · archived copy · our copy (1985 KB)
  2. 2.
    EFF Atlas of Surveillance, row AOS000911, San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office automated license plate readers, "As of April 2024"; project snapshot captured 2026-08-21 · Dataset · · accessed · archived copy
  3. 3.
    San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grant Program application to the California Board of State and Community Corrections, printed submission date 07/07/2023 · Primary document · · accessed · archived copy · our copy (2048 KB)

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