Drivers crisscrossing Pulaski County are passing far more license-plate cameras than most realize — 183 of them, spread across six cities, according to records obtained through public-records requests. Police departments in Alexander, Cammack Village, Jacksonville, Little Rock, North Little Rock and Sherwood all use the Flock Safety devices, which scan vehicles as they drive by and feed the data into law-enforcement databases.
The tally and an interactive map of camera locations come from KATV, which built the map using records from all six Pulaski County police departments. Little Rock accounts for the largest share of that network, with 116 automated license-plate readers positioned citywide, according to the Arkansas Times, which also obtained and mapped the department's camera locations.
What the Cameras Actually Capture
Each camera logs more than just a passing car. The Arkansas Times reports that the devices record the date, time and location of every vehicle that passes, along with its make, model, color and other identifying features. Flock Safety itself describes the technology as capturing a vehicle's license plate number and characteristics as it passes, while maintaining that the cameras do not identify individuals or record continuously, according to ABC News.
Under Arkansas law, government entities using the readers must purge captured data after 150 days, the Arkansas Times notes. Flock has separately moved to shorten its own default retention window nationwide — from 30 days down to seven — while adding an “Evidence Mode” meant to preserve footage tied to active investigations, per the same ABC News report.
Officer Misuse Prompts Internal Investigation
The scrutiny on Little Rock's system intensified after an internal audit uncovered that three officers misused the department's Flock system. All three were relieved of duty with pay while the investigation continues, according to a statement covered by KARK. One of those officers, the station reported, used the system to run searches that were “unauthorized and personal in nature.”
Beyond who can see the data internally, there's also the question of who else can access it. Carscoops reports that Little Rock police share access to their automated license-plate-reader data with law-enforcement agencies across the country, and that federal agencies may request access through local departments. The city's Board of Directors voted in October 2025 to extend its Flock contract for two more years at a cost of $690,000, Carscoops noted.
A Divided Response Across Arkansas
Little Rock isn't alone in grappling with the technology, but Arkansas cities haven't responded uniformly. At least six — Centerton, Greers Ferry, Searcy, Mayflower, Farmington and Pea Ridge — have let their Flock contracts expire or ended them early, according to the Arkansas Advocate. Cabot has temporarily unplugged its cameras while the city reviews whether to keep using them, the outlet reported, and separate reporting from KATV confirms that Pea Ridge, Cabot and Mayflower specifically suspended or discontinued their Flock contracts.
Conway and Sherwood, by contrast, have stuck with the cameras. Conway continues running its 20 Flock readers even as opposition in the city has led to several cameras being destroyed or vandalized, the Arkansas Advocate reports; the city's $180,000 contract was paid using asset-forfeiture funds rather than tax dollars, according to KATV's earlier reporting. Sherwood's police department has said the cameras helped recover several stolen vehicles and locate seven missing people since the department started using them in 2021, per the Arkansas Advocate.
Part of a Bigger National Fight
Arkansas's split mirrors a wider national reckoning with the technology. More than 50 cities and counties have canceled or deactivated automated license-plate-recognition cameras so far in 2026, and Flock cameras have been vandalized in at least 36 states, according to ABC News. The outlet also reports that more than 135,000 such cameras have been identified nationwide, with roughly four out of every five made by Flock Safety, which says its devices now operate in 49 states.
Flock maintains the technology delivers real public-safety value, telling ABC News its cameras helped authorities locate more than 10,000 missing people in the past year and supported roughly 1 million criminal investigations in 2025. The company has also announced plans to roll out new technology safeguards by the end of 2026, including the shortened retention window and a requirement that searches be tied to a criminal case number, according to the Arkansas Advocate.
