“Reason” me this, Flock

August 6, 2026

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Cartoon image by Gemini AI

In June of 2026, Visalia Police Department decided they no longer wanted the public to know why they were accessing the Flock Automated License Plate Reader system.

Let’s look at Visalia PD’s “Transparency Page” .CSV file for two different 30 day periods this year. Here’s the one starting on May 5, 2026, which contains the “reason” field in the log.

From the left to the right, we see the following ; an ID number, apparently coded. The “user ID” is merely asterisks. No public idea who is accessing the data. Next is the date and time, in “Zulu” time, which is UTC, which is Greenwich Mean Time. (London, England) Next is the number of “networks” being searched. I don’t know if this means number of cameras, or number of agencies, businesses, and organizations. The final field is “reason”. Each search of the database requires a reason for the search. They’ve told us each access requires a case number, but it’s never been listed on the public facing page. As it is, some of the “reason” entries are simply meaningless. More on that in a bit.

Now, starting sometime in June of 2026, VPD has removed the “reason” field from the file. I’m going to assume it’s visible on their side of the site (all of this stuff sits on Flock servers, requiring users to log in and access the information remotely), but we can no longer see it. Our “transparency” is becoming more opaque.

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Hidden in the Flock

August 4, 2026

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Gemini AI image

Flock Automated License Plate readers have been increasingly in the news recently, as problems with the surveillance system have come to light. Many communities have begun to re-think their use of Flock. Los Angeles PD is one large agency that has decided to revisit their use, and has put renewing their subscription on hold for now. Here are my thoughts on Flock and other similar license plate reader operations.

In a perfect world, computer-based information systems like Flock would be a powerful tool for law enforcement. Put in a license plate number, or a vehicle description, and given enough cameras in the system, pinpoint where a stolen car went (or is), find a missing elderly person who drove off and has become confused on how to get home, or a myriad of other scenarios that might benefit from accessing such a database.

The problem is, we don’t live in a perfect world.

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The Final Flock – and the answer is: “NO”

August 3, 2026

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It started April 24, 2026. I filed a public records request for information on the Flock Automated License Plate Reader system the City of Visalia was utilizing. Today, August 3, 2026, I got the final response. Basically, “NO”. The only thing they sent me that was not readily available on the Visalia Police Department Flock Transparency page was a list of “audits”, reporting which agencies had access to Visalia’s Flock network. It was in the tens of thousands of PDF pages. What that revealed is a whole blog post in itself, perhaps at a later date. (I did not see any evidence in those pages of any non-California agencies accessing Visalia Police Department’s database, such as ICE or Homeland Security. There’s a loop-hole about that, however.)

2026.08.03 RB Ltr to J. Reeves (final)Download

The only thing they were willing to tell me about my vehicle being identified, cataloged, and stored in the Flock database was that they didn’t have any record of Visalia PD checking for my plate. I suppose that’s good. Of course, it doesn’t mean that they haven’t, after my request.

Here are the blog posts I’ve made during this investigation:

  1. “What the Flock?” My first notice of the Flock cameras in Visalia.
  2. “Well, Flock Me!” Stories about agencies cancelling their Flock contracts due to violations of state law by Flock.
  3. “More Flock, More Fun” Another blogger runs the stuff I’ve done through an AI for analysis.
  4. “Flock You Later” The Police Department opts to take their allowed 14 day extension to respond to my request.
  5. “Flock the Lawyers” The Police Department hands my request off to the City’s lawyers. That’s seldom a good sign.
  6. “Flock Me A Little Bit” They send me the list of which agencies can access VPD Flock data, and want me to prove the license plate I asked about is mine.
  7. “Tick Tock Tick Flock” The lawyers dump a huge file on me, with audit logs of agencies that accessed Visalia’s Flock data. Want to know the biggest user, by far? California Highway Patrol. They routinely check thousands of camera files.

So they’ve decided “…data is exempt from public disclosure under the public records act balancing test because the public interest in preventing disclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure…” and “Visalia PD’s policy “Because such data may contain confidential information, it is not open to public view.” (Policy 428.2.)”

They took 14 weeks to determine they wouldn’t give me data on myself. Due diligence, or deliberate delay?

This story is not over.

Image by Gemini AI

Tick tock tick Flock

July 13, 2026

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Visalia Police Department Public Records Request – update

On April 19, 2026, I posted “What the Flock?“, my first entry about the proliferation of Flock Automated License Plate Readers in Visalia, California.

On April 24, 2026, I posted “Well, Flock Me!“, about a nearby community (Merced, California) disabling their Flock ALPR system after problems with unauthorized access were discovered. On that same day, I filed a Public Records Request with the Visalia Police Department, about Visalia’s recent installation of Flock cameras. The City had ten days to respond.

On May 5, 2026, I posted “Flock you later“, where the City of Visalia takes advantage of a 14 day extension to provide the requested documents.

On May 11, 2026, I posted “Flock the Lawyers“, wherein the City informs me they have to run it past the lawyers first, and they were targeting June 1, 2026 for release of the documents.

On May 27, 2026, “Flock Me A Little Bit” is the next chapter, in which the City is initially refusing to provide some of the requested documentation, since I was requesting the images in the system of a particular license plate. My license plate. I sent them a copy of my vehicle registration. The next target date for complying with my request was June 20, 2026.

On June 29, 2026, I posted to Facebook, tagging both the City of Visalia and the Visalia Police Department, that they were nine days past their own due date for information. That was at 1pm. By 3pm, I received a “supplemental response to your public records request”, via email. This response stated “The attached document shows the result of a Department audit searching for any monitoring and investigating activity for JJRJR. No data exists.” Except that wasn’t what I asked them to provide. I had no reason to suspect the Police Department deliberately did a search for my license plate, for whatever reason. What I asked for was every instance of my plate being recorded by the system. Those are two different things. They are not going to convince me that my plate has never been recorded by their system.

In that response, they also moved the date again. More information was supposed to be available July 20, 2026.

On July 10, 2026, I received this letter, and a link to a DropBox file with audit logs.

2026.07.10 RB Ltr to J.ReevesDownload

There are tens of thousands of pages (PDF file pages) in response to this part of my request. In case the link in the letter doesn’t work, you can see them at my Dropbox, at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/6u6l4w0jwe54w6y1fvllu/AAZ4mAaSF8XPUJfqUpd2lwo?rlkey=iuqasfx1t6r8hhwgz02h36us1&st=qkgkdqht&dl=0

They state “The Department’s staff is continuing its diligent search and review of requested records. The Department’s staff members estimate they will be able to supplement this response on or about August 20, 2026, earlier if able.”

Tick tock tick Flock

Flock Me A Little Bit

May 27, 2026

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The next chapter in our Flock Me series is here! Today I received this email from the Visalia Police Department’s lawyers. (I’m going to have to ask why they have an out-of-town law firm doing this, and not the city attorney.)(UPDATE: It’s not actually an out-of-town firm. It’s a local, Visalia law firm. Not sure why I was thinking it’s an out-of-town company. Oops.)

2026.05.27 RB Ltr to J. ReevesDownload

I’ve sent them an image of my vehicle registration, so I hope to get the images of every time my car has been photographed by the system in Visalia. We’ll see.

Here’s the data on the agencies who can access the Visalia Police Department’s camera system. I’m going to have to study it a bit to figure out exactly what it means, and it does not (so far) answer the question of who *actually* accessed the data. This seems to indicate who is allowed to have access, which is not really what I asked. We’ll see if future information dumps include that little detail.

Flock Shared NetworksDownload

For those new to the saga of the Flock Automated License Plate Readers, here’s the blog posts I’ve done so far:

What the Flock?

Well, Flock me!

More Flock, more fun

Flock you later

Flock the Lawyers

Flock the Lawyers

May 11, 2026

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2026.05.11 RB Ltr to J. ReevesDownload

Oh my…

Now the City of Visalia is running it by the lawyers. It also manages to push the “final” date out to June 1, 2026.

As you’ll recall, my first post about it was “What the Flock?“, where I looked at all of the locations where Visalia Police Department (VPD) had installed cameras.

The next post was about a public records request I submitted to VPD concerning the cameras, “Well, Flock me!”

Another blogger, Paul Flores, had the AI system DeepSeek create an interesting look at what I was doing. “More Flock, More Fun“

The first response to my Public Records request was this, “Flock you later“.

Tick Tock

Flock you later

May 5, 2026

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The Flock Automated License Plate Reader saga continues.

As you’ll recall, my first post about it was “What the Flock?“, where I looked at all of the locations where Visalia Police Department (VPD) had installed cameras.

The next post was about a public records request I submitted to VPD concerning the cameras, “Well, Flock me!”

Another blogger, Paul Flores, had the AI system DeepSeek create an interesting look at what I was doing. “More Flock, More Fun“

Today, I got a notice from Visalia PD, advising me they were going to extend their deadline by fourteen days, as provided by law.

I didn’t think I was asking for that much, and I really expected to get very little, with them citing confidentiality laws! 😉

The timer is reset. tick tock

Well, Flock me!

April 24, 2026

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Flock ALPR, Visalia, California

Some more License Plate Reader fun. KMPH 26 posted a story about Merced’s Police Department discovering a, shall we say – just to be very understanding of the complexity of computerized systems – a “mis-configuration” of their automated license plate reader system. Although not the Flock ALPR, like Visalia’s, they released a statement on April 23, 2026, saying, in part, the following:

Merced, Calif – In the interest of transparency, the Merced Police Department is addressing recent concerns regarding automated license plate reader (ALPR) data sharing.

Following these reports, the Department conducted a comprehensive internal review of its ALPR system. That review determined that prior system configurations allowed data sharing with certain federal agencies.

Upon identifying this issue, the Department immediately disabled the identified connections and will continue to conduct additional audits to ensure ongoing compliance.

Merced joins Santa Cruz, Oxnard, and Ventura Police Departments to identify (through media reports, not, apparently, through their own oversight) problems with unauthorized access to their databases. Each agency has said they’ve fixed the problems, but one has to wonder how many other instances of unauthorized access have occurred.

I’ve sent the following Public Records Request to the Visalia Police Department:

To: Custodian of Records
Visalia Police Department
303 S Johnson St.
Visalia, CA 93291
(Or via NextRequest Portal)

Date: April 24, 2026

RE: CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUEST – FLOCK ALPR DATA SHARING AND SPECIFIC PLATE RECORDS

To the Custodian of Records:

Under the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code § 7920.000 et seq.) and California Civil Code § 1798.90.5 et seq., I am requesting the following public records held by the Visalia Police Department (VPD):

System Access & Inter-Agency Sharing Logs: Any and all records, audit logs, or documentation showing access to data compiled by the VPD via the Flock Safety ALPR system by any agency other than the Visalia Police Department. This request includes, but is not limited to:

Lists of “Hot List” hits shared with outside agencies.

Audit trails showing when outside agencies (federal, state, or local) queried the VPD’s Flock database.

Current lists of all agencies with whom the VPD has a data-sharing agreement for ALPR data.

The time frame for this request is from the initial installation/implementation of the Flock system to the present date.

Specific License Plate Records: All records, images, and data points captured by the VPD ALPR system (including fixed cameras and mobile units) that reference or identify the following California license plate: JJRJR.

This request includes time stamps, location data (GPS coordinates or camera IDs), and associated photographs for every instance this plate was recorded from the time of system installation to the present date.

Redactions and Privacy:
If the Department contends that any portion of these records is exempt from disclosure, please provide the non-exempt portions pursuant to Gov. Code § 7922.525. If any portion of the request is denied, please provide a written response citing the specific legal authority for the denial within the ten (10) days required by statute.

Request for Digital Format:
Please provide these records in electronic format. If the records exist in a searchable database or spreadsheet (such as CSV or Excel), I request they be provided in that native format.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Jimmie Joe Reeves
Visalia, CA

That license plate request is for my own car, and I’m interested how many times the system has seen me while I’m running around town. From what I understand of their operational rules, they should have no images older than 30 days. We’ll see if I get anything, or get buried with data files.

What the Flock?

April 19, 2026

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Image of Visalia Flock cameras on a map of the city.
Map images from https://deflock.org/

“I always feel like somebody’s watching me
And I have no privacy (oh, oh)
I always feel like somebody’s watching me
Who’s playing tricks on me?” Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell

London is a city well known for extensive video monitoring by CCTV systems. London Metro Police have eyes across the city. Jurisdictions in the United States are following suit, bit by bit. Starting last year (2025), Visalia jumped on that bandwagon, too, with (at this writing) thirteen Flock cameras. Not to the extent of London, but every place has to start somewhere, right?

I was a bit surprised when I checked out the https://deflock.org/ map for the Visalia area. I was expecting to see 13 cameras under the control of the Visalia Police Department. I didn’t expect to see seven of them covering the College of the Sequoias, four at the Packwood Creek Shopping Center, and four at the Willow Creek Shopping Center. (I don’t think those are for VPD. I’m sure they’re under the control of the property owners. Especially since all the cameras there are pointing inwards to the properties, and not out towards the street.)

The City of Visalia page on the Flock website is https://transparency.flocksafety.com/visalia-ca-pd. It gives some interesting information on Visalia’s system. At the time of this post, 13 cameras had logged 344,972 “vehicles detected” in the past 30 days.

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Sunnova – our rules only apply to you, not us

February 11, 2025

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So here’s the latest on the solar panel repair fiasco. They, of course, refuse to pay ME $100 for THEIR missing an appointment, although if the missed appointment had been MY fault, they would charge ME $100. My take on the situation? Don’t deal with Sunnova if you can avoid it.

02/11/2025

Dear Jim Reeves,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns about the appointment.

I understand your frustration regarding the missed appointment and the lack of communication surrounding it.

After reviewing your case, I would like to clarify that while we strive to adhere to our service protocols and keep our customers informed, in this instance, the situation did not meet the criteria for a $100 fee as outlined in our policy. As a company, we do not apply fees for situations where we fail to meet the scheduled appointment window, and unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding your case do not qualify for a credit.

Please know that we take your concerns seriously, and I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We will continue to review our procedures to ensure better communication and service moving forward.

If you have further questions or need assistance, please reply to this email or log in to your MySunnova portal and chat with one of our friendly agents. They are available to help you with anything from account inquiries to troubleshooting.

Here’s how to get started:

  1. Visit MySunnova: Go to https://www.sunnova.com/mysunnova.
  2. Sign in: Enter your login credentials.
  3. Start Chat: Look for the chat icon in the lower left of your screen and initiate a conversation.

Our agents are ready to assist you promptly from 7 AM to 7 PM, Monday to Saturday.

Kindly,
Jenifer C.
Customer Service Representative
Sunnova Energy Corporation
Hours of operations are (CST):
Monday – Friday 7:00 AM to 12 midnight
Saturday 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Sunday 12:00 PM to 12 midnight

The prior email chain:

RE: System SO0024XXXX
I was scheduled for a repair appointment for 2/5/2025, with the technician scheduled to arrive between 8am and 11am. I was home and available during those hours.
No one came to my home, and I was not contacted about a delay or a cancellation.
In the text message I received confirming my appointment is the following:
“$100 missed visit fee if the tech can’t access the system OR you cancel after 5pm the day before the appt.”

Since Sunnova’s text message says “we reserve the right to charge a $100 missed visit fee…”, I expect you’ll return the favor. I expect a $100 credit on my account for your tech not showing up to the scheduled appointment in the scheduled window (indeed, not showing up or contacting me for the entire day).

Please respond with confirmation that my account has been credited $100, and schedule a repair appointment since the original problem still exists.

Jim Reeves

On Feb 7, 2025, at 6:28 PM, Customer Service customerservice@sunnova.com wrote:

 Dear Jim Reeves,

Thank you for contacting Sunnova Energy regarding your appointment.

Please accept my sincerest apologies for the inconvenience that the rescheduling of your visit has caused. Due to protocol issues, we were compelled to change the date. However, I would like to emphasize that the fee will only be applied if the client is not at home when our technician arrives. If you are not present at the time of the technician’s visit, I extend my deepest regrets for the inconvenience. Nevertheless, I would like to underscore that the visit has already occurred.

Should you have further questions or need assistance, please reply to this email or log in to your MySunnova portal and chat with one of our friendly agents. They’re available to help you with anything from account inquiries to troubleshooting.

Here’s how to get started:

  1. Visit MySunnova: Go to https://www.sunnova.com/mysunnova.
  2. Sign in and enter your login credentials.
  3. Start Chat: Look for the chat icon in the lower left of your screen and initiate a conversation.
    Our agents are ready to assist you promptly from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

Thank you for choosing Sunnova!
Best regards,
Jorge H.
Sunnova Energy Corporation
Customerservice@sunnova.com

2/7/25

“Jorge”,

The problem was not the need to reschedule my appointment due to “protocol issues” (whatever that means), my complaint was/is that the text messages confirming the original appointment included notice that my missing the appointment, or cancelling after 5pm the day before, would trigger a $100 fee.
Sunnova technicians did not arrive during the originally specified window, and did not notify me that they would be unable to fulfill their appointment, and especially for not alerting me to that before 5pm the prior day.
Therefore, since it is clearly Sunnova policy that appointments that are missed without notice prior to 5pm the day before are subject to a $100 fine, I expect no less than the same treatment in return.
I expect and demand that Sunnova credit my account $100 for Sunnova’s failure to arrive during the scheduled appointment window, and for not notifying me before 5pm the day prior.

Jim Reeves
Sent from my iPhone

*********************************************

Here’s the text message I received once sending a confirmation of the appointment they set:

SUNNOVA APPT CONFIRMED for 2/05/2025 between 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM
$100 missed visit fee if the tech can’t access the system OR you cancel after 5PM the day before the appt.
RESCHEDULE/CANCEL via MySunnova appt link OR agent chat.
Reply STOP to opt out of appt texts

*********************************************

So in the final analysis, if the customer screws up and misses the appointment, they’ll charge $100 fee to the customer’s account. If Sunnova screws up and misses the appointment, it’s “oh well, we don’t pay you for our failure”.

EDIT: Addition:

This is not the only problem I’ve had with them, just so you know. They charged an exorbitant amount ($8,400) to remove and then later reinstall the panels to allow a new roof to be installed. They also failed to obtain the proper city permit to do the job, and then took 6 months to “investigate” the issue, all the while charging me for estimated production that my panels did not produce while they sat in my backyard waiting to go back up on the roof. Needless to say, after all that it may be a decade before I see any real financial savings from the system.

If you decide to have solar panels installed on a lease program, or any program where you don’t pay upfront for your own privately held system, be sure you won’t need a new roof during the life of the contract. It won’t pay if you have to remove-reinstall the system. The only benefit now will be in monthly cash-flow, as my electricity bill will decrease by some.

Needless to say, I’m not a happy camper right now.

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