Documented Incident
Released data show New Hanover sheriff's office made 3.9% of searches of its Flock cameras
First reported: August 11, 2026 · 3 sources
Newly released audit data reported by the Wilmington Star-News indicate the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office accounted for 3.9% of searches run against the county's Flock Safety license plate reader network. According to the reporting, the vast majority of queries of the county's cameras came from agencies or users outside the sheriff's office. The full article text available does not specify the time period covered, the total number of searches, or which outside agencies conducted them.
Audit figures showing that most searches of a locally funded camera network originate outside the host agency raise questions about who can access the data and how that sharing is overseen — a pattern other communities have examined when reviewing ALPR contracts.
Key facts
- The New Hanover County Sheriff's Office accounted for 3.9% of searches of the county's Flock cameras, according to newly released data.
- Most searches of the county's camera network originated outside the sheriff's office, as reported by the Wilmington Star-News.
- The available article text does not state the audit period, total search volume, or the identities of outside agencies making searches.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- New Hanover sheriff's office accounts for 3.9% of Flock camera searches (Wilmington Star-News, August 11, 2026)
- Sheriff's office accounts for 3.9% of New Hanover Flock searches | Exclusive (Wilmington Star-news, August 11, 2026)
- WECT INVESTIGATES : Records show nearly 3 million Flock searches in New Hanover County since 2025 (wect.com, August 18, 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 19, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.