Documented Incident
Kent County Sheriff and Grand Rapids Police launch public Flock ALPR transparency portals
First reported: September 9, 2026 · 4 sources
The Kent County Sheriff's Office and Grand Rapids Police Department each launched public Flock Safety transparency portals on Tuesday. GRPD's portal shows the number of operational cameras, search totals and the most common stated reason for searches, with data refreshed every 24 hours and covering the prior 30 days, which the department says matches its data retention period. GRPD Deputy Chief Mike Maycroft said the launch fulfilled a commitment made at the department's last Public Safety Committee meeting.
Transparency portals give residents a limited window into how often automated license plate reader systems are queried and for what stated purposes, though the data published is self-reported by the agencies and its completeness is not independently verified in the reporting.
Key facts
- Both portals went live Tuesday; GRPD data updates every 24 hours and covers 30 days, matching its stated retention period.
- Kent County Sheriff's Office started with a 20-camera Flock pilot in 2022 and now operates 62 cameras countywide.
- KCSO says the cameras capture still images of vehicle rears and plates, and do not offer live video, audio, facial recognition or continuous GPS tracking.
- KCSO says portal and system access is limited to trained, authorized users, that searches require a documented criminal justice or public-safety purpose, and that activity is logged and routinely audited.
- Undersheriff Bryan Muir said the public deserves to know how the technology is used and what limits apply.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Kent County Sheriff, Grand Rapids Police launch Flock transparency portals (wwmtarc, September 9, 2026)
- Kent County, Grand Rapids launch Flock camera transparency portals (WOODTV.com, September 8, 2026)
- Flock transparency portals launched by Grand Rapids, Kent County (WOODTV.com, September 9, 2026)
- Kent County, Grand Rapids launch Flock transparency portals amid community privacy concerns (spectrumlocalnews.com, September 9, 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 September 12, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.