Out-of-state and federal agencies improperly searched San Francisco’s license plate reader database hundreds of times in the last year, officials said Wednesday, marking the latest in a string of incidents acknowledging misuse of the controversial surveillance technology.

The San Francisco Police Department said it uncovered 299 improper inquiries within what it described as “over roughly a year” through a routine compliance audit in May, a figure it characterized as 0.005% of all queries during that period. 

The department said the searches were routed through the state’s Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, or NCRIC. The department had previously authorized the agency to access its Flock Safety network as permitted under state law.

California law prohibits law enforcement agencies from sharing license plate reader data with out-of-state or federal agencies. The SFPD said no outside agency ever had direct access to its system.

The disclosure adds to a record of documented problems with the automated license plate reader network since its 2024 launch. In September, The Standard reported that out-of-state agencies had run more than 1.6 million searches of the city’s data, including at least 19 marked as related to ICE. Those figures, obtained through a public records request, showed that agencies such as a Georgia sheriff’s office and the Dallas Police Department had queried the data, with some searches referencing ICE’s Fugitive Operations program. The Standard found that out-of-state agencies had direct access to SFPD’s database at least from August 2024 to February 2025.

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Abuse of the system has also come from within the department. In February, officials revealed that an SFPD officer used the cameras to search for his wife’s stolen car, in violation of department rules, then posted images on Instagram. The department learned of that misuse only after another agency flagged the social media posts.

The improper searches identified by the recent audit were conducted by analysts with the Western States Information Network, which provides analytical support to law enforcement agencies across California. According to the department, NCRIC had granted the network’s Watch Center access to the city’s data during night hours without the SFPD’s knowledge. The department said the analysts were unaware of the state law barring such data sharing and that the network has since updated its policies and notified staff of the legal requirements.

The department said the queries involved investigations of serious crimes, including homicide, child sexual abuse, gun trafficking, and drug trafficking. During a presentation to the city’s Police Commission, officials emphasized that the audit found no inquiries referencing immigration enforcement or reproductive rights investigations, and that ICE and the Department of Homeland Security were not among those that accessed the database. The department said the analysts who accessed the SFPD’s data simultaneously queried the license plate reader databases of 531 to 763 other law enforcement agencies.

Police Chief Derrick Lew disabled NCRIC’s access upon discovering the searches and opened an internal review, the department said. NCRIC and the Western States Information Network (WSIN) remain cut off from the SFPD’s database.

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Here are two paragraphs drawing on the Cena interview, written to slot into the story after the section describing the disclosure:

Reached by phone Thursday, NCRIC Executive Director Mike Sena said police had notified the center of potential issues involving a partner’s system access. The analysts involved were cut off from the system and given training, he added.

Sena said the center plans to hold a call with law enforcement agencies to brief them on what happened, as well as to confirm they have appropriate policies and general orders in place governing data sharing with out-of-state agencies, and defended the decision to suspend access while WSIN personnel completed training, acknowledging that the cutoff sharply reduces investigative capability. Sena said there is no timetable for restoring access.

Privacy advocates have repeatedly warned that automated license plate reader technology invites abuse. Matthew Guariglia, a senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has argued that officers will find ways to misuse the data regardless of the safeguards in place.

Still, the department has defended the system as central to a historic drop in violent and property crime amid staffing shortages, saying the tool helps officers identify suspects with greater precision. The department said it would continue auditing its data and react whenever sharing agreements are violated.