Denver Announces Robust New Safeguards to License Plate Reader Use
Published on October 22, 2025
Mayor Mike Johnston today announced the city will move forward with a five month, no-cost contract extension with Flock Safety to evaluate unprecedented and strict new measures that ensure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that license plate readers (LPRs) are used transparently and within local and state law. Any violations of these restrictions will carry severe monetary penalties for Flock Safety and can result in the contract’s dissolution.
As of today, access to Denver’s LPR data has been shut off to all other agencies and, going forward, will only be accessible to law enforcement agencies who sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the City and County of Denver. Agencies will need to negotiate an MOU with Denver, which will state that any data sharing with the federal government regarding civil immigration enforcement will result in an immediate loss of access to data sharing and referral to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office for prosecution. Additionally, no federal agents will be allowed to search Denver’s data, even if they are assigned to a Denver task force.
“In Denver, we believe you can be a city that is just as tough on fighting crime as it is protecting someone’s civil liberties,” said Mayor Mike Johnston. “That’s why we’re taking steps not seen anywhere else in the country to ensure this technology is wielded responsibly and that our data stays out of the federal government’s hands. I’ve made clear to Flock’s leadership that I expect total transparency and that anything less will result in an end to our relationship. To their credit, they have agreed to our terms and will build a Denver-specific package that will lead the way in using this technology for the public good.”
Flock’s LPRs have proven to be a game-changer for combating crime. Since launching a pilot program with Flock in early 2024, LPRs have helped Denver Police recover 39 firearms, make 352 arrests, recover more than 250 stolen vehicles, and resulted in the capture of individuals suspected of sexual assault, murder, and fatal hit-and-runs. LPRs are designed to capture license plate and vehicle characteristics data, and police will only search the system for a vehicle if it is suspected of being connected with a crime.
"It is not an exaggeration to say that individuals suspected of the worst crimes could still be on the streets if not for this technology,” said Police Chief Ron Thomas. “Denver Police have always used license plate readers responsibly and we will continue to do so under these new safeguards.”
Since the inauguration of President Trump, the city has taken several steps to ensure Denver’s data is not used for purposes such as civil immigration enforcement, which is barred by state law. These include:
- Switching off access to the nationwide look-up system in Spring 2025, allowing only Colorado law enforcement agencies to access data. As of today, that access is limited to only the Denver Police Department.
- Conducting comprehensive and recurring audits of all searches of Flock data to prevent any potential bad actors from gaining access in real time.
- Launching a task force compromised of members of the Mayor’s Office, Denver City Council, the District Attorney’s Office, Denver Police, and others.
Under the newly agreed upon terms, Flock will:
- Agree to pay $100,000 in damages for any breach or improper release of Denver’s data.
- Agree to only allow search terms under for a select number of crimes. In compliance with city and state law, there will be no searches permitted that relate to immigration or reproductive healthcare.
The no-cost contract will last through March 31, 2026, at which point the Mayor’s Office will, if all conditions have been met satisfactorily, present a contract to City Council for approval of a long-term agreement to continue using LPRs to address crime.
“I’ve been asking for strong guardrails around use of this technology, and this new structure provides them,” said Councilman Kevin Flynn, who is serving on the task force put together to create policies for Flock’s safe use. “The system has already proved its worth in solving crimes around the city. We can boost safety while ensuring the data is restricted.”
There has been no evidence of Denver’s Flock data being used for civil immigration enforcement. The city thanks Council and the community for its feedback, which led to the additional measures announced today.