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The main difference is how and where each system is deployed—not a proven difference in accuracy or privacy. Flock Safety describes a camera-based ALPR network and says agencies control access and sharing. Rekor Scout is software that can add plate recognition to compatible cameras, while Axon Fleet 3 is an in-vehicle system. In every case, the agency’s configuration and policies determine who can search records, how long they are kept, and whether another agency can access them.

How the systems differ

Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) capture images of vehicles and use software to identify plate numbers. They can also record vehicle characteristics, time, and camera location. That is vehicle and movement data; it is not, by itself, facial recognition or proof of who was driving.

The systems below are not identical products aimed at the same installation. Flock and Rekor describe fixed-camera or camera-connected deployments; Axon Fleet 3 is designed for vehicles. Feature descriptions in this comparison come from the vendors unless a local-government or news source is identified.

System Deployment and capture Search and alerts Hosting and retention
Flock Safety Flock describes ALPR cameras that capture plate images, vehicle characteristics, date and time, and camera-location identifiers. Flock says its ALPR does not use facial recognition or collect driver information or facial-recognition data. Flock Trust Center The materials cited here do not establish a directly comparable list of search and alert functions for Flock. Flock describes seven days as its recommended or usual default for new configurations. Customer settings, local law, and existing arrangements can differ; data is deleted at the end of the configured retention period. Flock Press Center
Rekor Scout Software that Rekor says can add plate and vehicle recognition to many existing IP, traffic, or security cameras. Rekor Scout Rekor describes searches by full, partial, or missing plate number and vehicle attributes, plus real-time alerts based on hotlists. Rekor Scout Rekor describes cloud and on-premises hosting and configurable retention. The cited product page does not establish a single retention period applicable to every deployment. Rekor Scout
Axon Fleet 3 ALPR An in-vehicle system. Axon describes a dedicated 4K image sensor and AI-enabled plate-reading software. Axon Fleet 3 ALPR FAQ The cited FAQ describes plate reading but does not establish a feature set directly comparable with Rekor’s partial-plate searches or hotlist alerts. Axon says agencies can configure retention for hit and read records. The cited FAQ does not give one universal period. Axon Fleet 3 ALPR FAQ

This comparison describes stated capabilities, not a performance ranking. The available sources do not establish an independent apples-to-apples test of recognition accuracy, false positives, uptime, total cost, or privacy safeguards across these vendors.

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What matters most for privacy: the local configuration

A vendor’s product page can explain what a system is capable of; it cannot tell you which agency users have accounts, what outside agencies can search, or what retention period a particular camera deployment uses. Those are questions for the agency’s policy, contract, configuration, and access records.

Who can see ALPR data?

Flock says agencies manage accounts and access, searches are logged, and customer agencies decide whether to share data. Its press-center statement says: “Agencies own and control the data generated by their cameras, and data sharing is not enabled by default.” That is Flock’s description of its policy, not independent confirmation of the settings for every customer. Flock Safety Press Center

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Sharing is not impossible simply because it is not enabled by default. The Associated Press has reported historical federal access to ALPR data through private networks, including Flock, and reported Flock’s then-current statement that it had paused certain federal pilot programs. That reporting concerns a particular period; it does not establish the present sharing configuration of every agency. Associated Press report

Rules can also depend on jurisdiction. For example, the City of Oxnard’s review describes its police department’s use of Motorola’s Vigilant Solutions platform from October 2017 through February 2023, then discusses review of sharing through Flock and California limits on sharing ALPR information with out-of-state and federal agencies. It is a local example, not a statement of national law or every California agency’s practice. City of Oxnard ALPR Data Sharing Review

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How long do police keep ALPR data?

There is no single retention period that can safely be inferred for every agency or vendor. Flock’s current materials describe seven days as the recommended or usual default for new configurations, while also saying existing customers keep previously established periods and local law or customer policy may affect the setting. Flock says records are automatically deleted when the configured period ends. A specific deployment’s active setting must be verified with the agency. Flock Trust Center · Flock Press Center

Rekor describes retention as configurable, and Axon says agencies configure retention for Fleet 3 hit and read records. The cited product materials do not supply a single period for either product. For all systems, ask separately whether records tied to an investigation can be preserved beyond routine retention, who authorizes that preservation, and when preserved records are deleted.

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How to evaluate a specific local deployment

For a named city, county, school, business, or neighborhood installation, request documents and answers from the agency operating the system. A useful comparison looks at actual settings and oversight, not just vendor feature lists.

  1. Identify what is installed. Confirm the vendor, product, camera locations, whether cameras are fixed, attached to existing infrastructure, or in vehicles, and what the system records: plate image or text, vehicle attributes, timestamp, location metadata, and any additional video functions.
  2. Establish who can search. Request the current user and agency access rules, enabled outside-agency sharing list, and procedures for adding or removing users and partner agencies. Ask whether access is reciprocal or limited to particular data or purposes.
  3. Verify retention and case preservation. Obtain the current retention configuration rather than relying on a vendor’s typical or recommended period. Check the routine deletion schedule, exceptions for investigations, who can place a preservation hold, and how long held records remain.
  4. Check search controls and auditing. Ask whether a valid search reason must be entered, whether supervisors approve searches, which events are logged, who reviews the audit trail, and how violations are handled.
  5. Read the governing documents together. Compare the agency policy with the contract and amendments, applicable state and local laws, records of access or sharing, and any public transparency portal or review. These materials can reveal differences between a vendor’s general description and the local deployment.
  6. Ask for evidence before comparing performance or cost. Request comparable procurement and test documents covering recognition accuracy, false positives, uptime, and total cost. Without comparable independent evidence, a vendor’s marketing statistics cannot establish that one system is more accurate, less expensive, or more privacy-protective than another.

What vendor impact claims can—and cannot—show

Flock’s homepage reports “27 missing people located every day using Flock in 2025.” This is a company-published impact figure, not an independently validated comparison with other ALPR providers. It does not demonstrate comparative accuracy or privacy performance. Flock Safety

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