Community and student groups are asking university police for more information on Flock license-plate-reader cameras, after revelations that the company running the system allowed federal border enforcement agencies wide access to data.

Attribution: https://news.azpm.org/p/azpmnews/2025/9/15/226420-community-members-ask-uapd-for-info-on-safety-cameras-accessed-by-border-authorities/

Author: Danyelle Khmara

In recent months the online publication 404 Media reported that federal immigration authorities had access to a broad swath of data collected on cameras operated by Flock Safety — the company used by UAPD.

Leila Hudson, UA professor and elected Chair of the Faculty Senate, says she hasn’t been able to get answers from the university officials on what data is being collected and how it’s being used.

“I hope that we will get access to those contracts so we can make sure that third parties are not, unbeknownst to the majority of the community right now, collecting, storing, sharing data without a good understanding of how it’s being used,” she said.

She says faculty want more information on what is being done with the data and are concerned about student safety.

“And the possible abuse of detailed information about vehicle traffic for a variety of different purposes,” she said. “It might be used to trace people’s movements across state lines. It might be used in law enforcement in ways that go beyond vehicle theft. We just want to make sure that none of that is happening here.”

UAPD says the Flock cameras are a component of their public safety strategy and have helped recover stolen vehicles and support efforts to locate missing persons.

But there are concerns that the data can be used for reasons it was not intended — such as reports of a Texas sheriff’s office that used it to track a woman across state lines as she sought abortion care or a Kansas police officer who used it to track his estranged wife.

UAPD has not fulfilled a Sept. 3 record request asking for information on who they share data with. And on Sept. 15 UAPD told AZPM that the Office of General Counsel now has the record request, but would not provide any more details on why.

In June UAPD told AZPM that they could not publicly disclose the sites of the license plate readers they use, but a map managed by DeFlock, a community-driven project that maps surveillance devices, shows 55 cameras in the campus vicinity.

In May 404 Media reported that Flock had cameras in more than 5,000 communities nationwide and was building a product that will use people lookup tools and data breaches to “jump from LPR [license plate reader] to person,” which would allow police to more easily track people around the country.

They also reported that local police were doing searches across Flock systems on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

And last month 404 reported that Flock gave Customs and Border Patrol direct access to a huge number of their cameras nationwide, even when doing so was illegal.

Community group Desert Rising Tucson wants the university to end its contract with Flock Safety. Group member Steven Davis says they are mostly concerned about what Flock will do with the data.

“I fear for the safety of individual members of the university community whose information is captured,” he said. “The mass surveillance system lends itself to abuse no matter what safeguards you think you’re building in.”

The group sent a cease and desist letter, saying the university may be in violation of the Jeanne Clery Act, which requires public universities to share safety policies and procedures. UAPD Sgt. Andrew Valenzuela didn’t answer AZPM’s question of whether they have disclosed information about the use of the Flock cameras to be in compliance with the Clery Act.

Hudson, with the Faculty Senate, says this is fundamentally an issue about privacy and data security.

“So my stake in this is making sure that our public university and our campus community are well protected in terms of privacy and data security, and have transparency into what data is being collected and how transparent that data collection process is,” she said.