RE:SanFranciscopolicecutoffFlockaccessafterimpropersearchesforfederal,out-of-stateagencies

File: RE_ San Francisco police cut off Flock access after improper searches for federal out-of-state agencies-Redacted (4).pdf Request: PR-2026-181 Sent: 2026-06-18 00:00:00 +0000 UTC Type: document Size: 641 KB OCR'd image-only scan

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Sent: 6/18/202610:45:55AM From: WendyStrattonMonahan<WMonahan@ci.benicia.ca.us> To: "MarkMenesini”<MMenesini@ci.benicia.ca.us> Cc: Bcc: Importance:Normal Subject: RE:SanFranciscopolicecutoffFlockaccessafterimpropersearchesforfederal,out-of-stateagencies ：，image008.png，image015737.png，image729093.png，image458742.png，image267721.png ，image719198.png，image392461.png Hereisthetextofthearticle: SanFranciscopolicecutoffFlockaccessafterimpropersearchesforfederal,out-of-stateagencies ByAidinVaziri,MichaelBarba,StaffWritersUpdatedJune18,20269:11a.m. SanFranciscopolicesaidWednesdaythattheirlicenseplatereaderdatawasimproperlysearchednearly300timesonbehalfoffederalandout-of-statelaw enforcementagencies,adisclosurelikelytorenewscrutinyofasurveillancetoolthathasexpandedrapidlyacrossCaliforniaandthenation. EverydayinSanFranciscoand acrosstheBayArea,thousandsof cameras—manyoperatedbyAtlanta-basedFlockSafety—capturelicenseplates.Police bytheNorthernCaliforniaRegionalIntelligenceCenter,ananti-crimefusioncenterthatactsasaninformation-sharinghubforlawenforcement. SFPDsaidthesearcheswereconductedthroughNCRICbyanotherentity,theWesternStatesInformationNetwork,onbehalfofout-of-stateandfederal agenciesthatwerenotallowedtoaccessitsdataunderCalifornialaw. Thesearcheswererelatedtocriminalinvestigationsinvolvingcrimesincludingmurder,childsexualabuse,andgunanddrug trafficking,SFPDsaid.Agencies SanFranciscopolicecalled thedisclosurea“statewideissue,”butdidnotdisclosehowmanyof theotheragencieswhosedatawas accessed areinCalifornia. agenciesincludingtheDrugEnforcementAdministration,theIRS,theBureauofAlcohol,Tobacco,FirearmsandExplosives,andstateagenciesinOregonand Washington. LewsaidhisdepartmentcutoffNCRiC'saccesstothecity'sFlockdata afterdiscovering theissue.However,thecityhasnotdisabled itsFlockcameras. Theauditfound 299improperinquiriesoveraboutoneyear,accountingfor0.005%of allinquiries during thatperiod,accordingtoSFPD.LewsaidSanFrancisco doesnotknowhowmanymatches,ifany,weremadebytheoutsideagenciesastheysearchedforlicenseplatesacrosshundredsof jurisdictions. Thedepartmentsaidtheauditdidnotfindanyinquiriesreferencingfederalimmigrationenforcementorreproductiverightsinvestigations,andthatthefederal agenciesidentifieddidnotincludeU.S.ImmigrationandCustomsEnforcementortheDepartmentofHomelandSecurity. Policesaidnofederalorout-of-stateagencieshaddirectaccesstoSFPD'sFlocksystem. FlockSafety,thecompanythatoperatestheplatform,alsosaidthesearcheswerenotcausedbyasoftwaremalfunction,unauthorizedaccessorafailureof its system. Instead,thedepartmentsaidNCRIChadaccessunderanarrangementallowedbystatelaw,andthatNCRICgrantednight-houraccesstoWSINanalysts. BasedonNCRIC'sinvestigation,SFPDsaidWSINanalystsconductedtheimpropersearchesattherequestofotheragencies. WSINtoldNCRICthat theanalystswereunawareCalifornialawprohibitedsharing license-platedata withfederaland out-of-statelawenforcement agencies, accordingtoSFPD. "There's a differencebetweenaqueryand ahit,"Lewtold commissioners.“Sowe don't know,of those queries,what actually generated areal hit.So,therefore, wedon'tknowwhatwasactuallydisseminated." MikeSena,theexecutive directorofNCRIC,saidSFPDnotifiedhimabout theissueMay 12.HesaidWSINhad analystslog the“exactreason”foreverysearch. "Notoneofthemwasimmigrationenforcement-related,"SenatoldtheChronicle. Hesaid thestatelawbanningout-of-state andfederal sharinghas created“gaps"inlawenforcement's abilitytoinvestigatecrimesthatcrossstate lines and in federal investigationsintoseriouscrimesinvolvingsuspectsinCalifornia. ButhesaidheunderstoodwhyLewdisabledNCRiC'saccesstoitsFlockdata. "It'sabig deal tomebecauseweneed tomakesurepeople arein compliance,"Sena said. SenawasunsurewhetheralloftheotheragencieswhosedatawasaccessedwerelocatedinCalifornia,buthesaidtheyprobablywere. combatretail andvehicletheftandothercrimes. SFPDsaidWednesdaythat thetechnologyhashelpedofficerssolvecrimesandnarrowinvestigations.Butthedepartment also acknowledgedprivacyconcerns andsaiditwouldcontinuereviewingaccesstothesystem. "We understand thepowerof these tools and that thepublichasinterest inprivacy,"SFPDspokespersonEvanSernoffskytold theChronicle. thedisclosure. "Today'srevelation that SFPDhas againviolated(state law)and generalprivacybest practicesfurther demonstrates that they donot take such things seriously," Hofer said. HofersaidthefailurecameeventhoughotheragencieshavehadtheirdataimproperlyaccessedthroughNCRiCbefore. TheSFPDdisclosurecomes ascivil libertiesgroupsand news organizationshaveraisedconcerns aboutCaliforniapoliceagencies allowingfederal orout-of- information aboutwherepeopletravel,includingpeoplewhoarenotsuspectedof crimes. SFPDsaiditwasthefirstandonlyagencytodiscovertheproblem.Thedepartmentsaidaregionalcallwillbeheldwithotheragencieswhosedatamayhave "Any timeprotocols and laws arenot strictlyadhered tobyagencies we share data with,"thepolice force said in a statement.“SFPDwilltake immediate actionto ensurepublictrust." June17,2026|UpdatedJune 18,20269:11a.m.

WendyStrattonMonahan SeniorManagementAnalyst/PDPI o X X PoliceDepartment O:707-746- 4306 WMonahan@ci.benicia.ca.us www.ci.benicia.ca.us/police 区区区区 From:MarkMenesini<MMenesini@ci.benicia.ca.us> Sent:Thursday,June 18,2026 10:43 AM To:WendyStrattonMonahan<WMonahan@ci.benicia.ca.us> Subject:FW:SanFranciscopolicecutoffFlockaccessafterimpropersearchesforfederal,out-of-stateagencies MarkMenesini Police Chief Police Departmen X X t O: 707-746- 4262 MMenesini@ci.benicia.ca.us www.ci.benicia.ca.us/police 区区 —OriginalMessage- From:StephenYoung Sent:Thursday,June18,202610:39AM To:EdwardCriado<ECriado@ci.benicia.ca.us> Cc:MarkMenesini<MMenesini@ci.benicia.ca.us>;MarioGiuliani<MGiuliani@ci.benicia.ca.us> Subject:SanFranciscopolicecutoffFlockaccess afterimpropersearchesforfederal,out-of-stateagencies Caution:Thisemailoriginatedfromoutsideoftheorganization.Donotclicklinks or open attachmentsunlessyourecognizethesender andknowthecontentis safe. https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sfpd-flock-license-plate-reader-data-searches-22310416.php CanyouconfirmwhetherornotflockaccessismadeavailabletoNCRiCandWSiNreferencedinthearticle? SentfrommyiPhone

Public Records Exemptions Enclosed please find a copy of the response documents for your public process employed to review and produce the response documents. Reason Description Pages 1 of 1