Flock narrows audit log details as InvestigateTV counts 70+ alleged misuse cases nationwide

First reported: August 10, 2026 · 10 sources

An InvestigateTV report centered on North Manchester, Indiana, where local critic Bob Sklar found 63 searches of his license plate logged between December 2024 and the end of 2025 by North Manchester police and Wabash County sheriff's personnel, according to records aggregated by HaveIBeenFlocked.com and partly confirmed by reporters. The agencies said the searches were legitimate; the sheriff's office attributed them to officer safety during traffic stops, and Indiana has no statewide ALPR law. Separately, Flock Safety changed its network audit logs earlier this summer so searches by outside agencies no longer display the searching officer's name, the plate queried or open-text reasons, saying nearly 200 law enforcement leaders raised officer-safety concerns. InvestigateTV said it catalogued more than 70 cases nationwide in which law enforcement officers or employees were investigated, disciplined, fired, arrested or convicted for misusing the system.

Why this matters

Audit logs have been the primary way the public and journalists verify who searched a plate and why, so changes to what those logs display affect outside oversight in states without ALPR statutes. The Indiana case also illustrates how searches can be lawful under current state law while still raising questions about surveillance of government critics.

Key facts

Sklar found 63 searches of his plate logged from December 2024 through the end of 2025; logged reasons included his surname, "PATROL" and "Locate."
Flock says more than 6,000 agencies in 49 states access data from more than 120,000 cameras; Sklar's search results indicated queries reaching between roughly 11,235 and nearly 98,000 devices.
North Manchester acknowledged an alert on his vehicle but declined to name the officer, citing officer safety; the sheriff's office said Flock data is exempt under Indiana's investigatory records exception.
Flock says the omitted audit fields are retained by the originating agency and that the change followed customer agency requests.
Flock's Josh Thomas said internal audit tools flagged much of the alleged misconduct; InvestigateTV said internal audits were credited in most of the cases it reviewed.
Washington, Oregon, Kentucky and Connecticut passed ALPR legislation in the past year requiring some form of auditing.

Timeline

August 10, 2026Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands
August 10, 2026Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands (Atlanta News First, August 10, 2026)
Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands (WDRB, August 10, 2026)
Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands (Https://www.kotatv.com, August 10, 2026)
Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands (Https://www.wmtv15news.com, August 10, 2026)
Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands (WPTA | 21Alive | Fort Wayne, IN, August 11, 2026)
Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands (Wfsb Channel 3, August 10, 2026)
Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands (wtoc.com, August 11, 2026)
Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands (kmvt.com, August 10, 2026)
Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands (Kctv5 News, August 10, 2026)
Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands (Headtopics, August 11, 2026)

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About this record

BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.

Updated August 17, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.