Connecticut drivers concerned about automated license plate readers now have a way to learn whether their plate number appears in search logs from Flock Safety, the private company whose cameras photograph passing vehicles and feed data to law enforcement.
What the site does — and doesn’t
HaveIBeenFlocked.com lets users enter a license plate number to search a database compiled from audit logs obtained through public records requests to police departments and other government agencies.
- The tool searches audit logs for instances when an operator used Flock’s system to look up a plate number.
- A match means a user of the Flock system searched that plate in the past; it does not prove a camera captured the vehicle or that the driver was the subject of an investigation.
- The person who performed the search may not have been a sworn police officer; agency records do not always identify the individual behind a query.
- The database is incomplete: many agencies do not release full audit logs, and records that are produced can be heavily redacted.
- The site is not a real-time monitor — there can be delays of months or years before records are added.
The project’s operators say the site does not save or log plates entered into its search box. HaveIBeenFlocked.com is not affiliated with Flock Safety or with any government agency; it is funded by donations and fiscally sponsored by the nonprofit Alternative Newsweekly Foundation.
Public concerns and official responses
The appearance of the site follows growing public scrutiny of Flock cameras in Connecticut and nationwide. The cameras capture images of license plates and enable searches for vehicles by plate number and other attributes, tools police chiefs have defended as valuable in solving crimes and locating missing people.
But privacy advocates and residents have raised questions about how long data are retained, who can query systems, and whether information is shared beyond law enforcement. Those concerns prompted Gov. Ned Lamont this month to ask municipalities to pause installing new Flock cameras while the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association and the state Police Officer Standards and Training Council work on a statewide policy governing the technology.
New state restrictions coming in October
Lawmakers have taken action as well. A new state law that will limit how license plate reader data can be shared is set to take effect on Oct. 1. The measure aims to tighten rules around dissemination of the data collected by private vendors and public agencies, though details of implementation and enforcement will be hammered out by state officials and local departments.
| Item | Current status |
|---|---|
| Public-facing audit logs | Patchwork availability; many redactions |
| HaveIBeenFlocked.com | Searchable database built from released records; not real-time |
| Statewide policy | Under development; municipalities asked to pause new installs |
| New law restricting sharing | Effective Oct. 1 |
Practical guidance for drivers
Drivers who want to check whether their plate appears in the records can use HaveIBeenFlocked.com, keeping in mind several caveats. A returned match signals that someone using Flock’s platform queried the plate — it is not proof of camera detection or investigation. Records are incomplete and may arrive long after the search occurred.
Those seeking more definitive information about local use of license plate readers should contact their municipal police department or the agency that oversees public safety technology in their town. Public records laws allow residents to request audit logs and other documentation, though responses can vary by jurisdiction and may be redacted for privacy or investigative reasons.
The new Oct. 1 law and the state-level policy discussions prompted by Gov. Lamont’s request could change what information is accessible and how departments must protect or share plate-reader data. For now, HaveIBeenFlocked.com offers a partial window into searches performed through Flock’s system while highlighting the limitations of public transparency in the absence of consistent statewide rules.
As the issue moves from local debates into state policy, Connecticut drivers and lawmakers face decisions about balancing investigative tools and privacy protections. The coming weeks will be a key period for determining how widely plate-reader logs are monitored, who may query them and how disclosures are managed under the new law and administrative guidance.
