The City of Shaker Heights announced that it is restricting access to its Flock license plate readers. The move follows a change in policy by the police department after it was revealed that numerous outside agencies were using the company’s license plate readers for immigration-related searches.
In a press release, the city announced it has signed an amended contract with Flock that restricts access by outside agencies and adds internal controls. The new contract eliminates “ambiguous language” about access to Flock and the use of city data.
In May, News 5 obtained public records chronicling all of Shaker's license plate reader data requests from Dec. 20, 2025, through the end of April 2026. The data sets showed that Shaker Heights data was accessed more than 700,000 times, but Shaker Police accessed it only 1,016 times. The majority, 693,573 searches, were done by other law enforcement agencies in Ohio and across the country. A reason was listed for each search. Immigration was listed 282 times. ICE was mentioned 32 times.
WATCH:
Today, the city said it will limit access to Flock data, “so that no federal agency, no agency outside of Ohio, and no agency with a 287(g) cooperative agreement with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may access Shaker's data.”
Shaker Heights also reached out to all 434 agencies that previously requested access for confirmation that they'll follow the city's immigration restrictions.
The city said not only must its officers abide by their immigration enforcement policy, but they must also link a specific case number for access to the Flock data.
Mayor David Weiss told News 5 Investigators earlier this month that the Flock cameras are staying.
“Moving forward, we are committed to keeping this valuable law enforcement tool available to the Shaker Heights Police Department,” Mayor Weiss said in a statement. “Flock LPRs have helped Shaker police solve a number of crimes, including homicide, sexual assault, and aggravated robbery. Flock also enabled our officers to recover a missing juvenile. These LPRs have proven to be useful and effective law enforcement tools.”
On Friday afternoon, Shake Off Flock shared their opposition to the contract.
"We can't understand why Mayor Weiss and city officials insist on clinging to Flock when we know it's untrustworthy and is part of an expansive national surveillance system that is being used against immigrants, activists and a growing number of Americans. And it doesn't make us safer. We just had Trump's FBI raid a voter rights organization in Ohio. The stakes are high. Most Shaker residents want to live in a community where everyone can be safe and welcomed. Flock is a betrayal of our community values."
