Are Flock Cameras Legal in New Jersey? Yes — and largely unregulated. Flock’s license plate readers are lawful to operate in every state; the real question — the one this page answers — is what rules New Jersey puts on them: how long your plate data can be kept, who can search it, whether a warrant is needed, and what rights you have to see the record.
Here is the fact that surprises most drivers: New Jersey has no ALPR-specific statute at all, which means the rules are set by Flock defaults and each local contract — and that gap is exactly what the current legislative fights are about. All details are for general guidance, verified against New Jersey sources as of September 2026.
In This New Jersey Guide:
Are Flock Cameras Legal in New Jersey? The Short Answer
NONE — New Jersey has NO ALPR-specific statute. Control comes from Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive 2022-12 (issued October 2022, effective January 23, 2023), which replaced AG Directive 2010-5 (December 3, 2010, revised November 18, 2015). AG Directives bind every state, county and municipal law enforcement agency in New Jersey and are enforceable as police discipline, but they are executive policy, not statute — a future Attorney General can rewrite them without the Legislature.
Bills to put ALPR rules into statute have been introduced repeatedly since 2014 (S2974, A2384, A2407, A3297/S4174, now A2594) and NONE has ever been enacted.
Because there is no statute, New Jersey municipalities set their own deployment terms by contract and council resolution, within the floor set by AG Directive 2022-12. Notable examples: Edison has run Flock ALPR since 2022; Atlantic City received $1.4 million in state funding announced by AG Platkin for roughly 120 additional ALPR cameras; roughly 1,539 reported ALPR cameras of all manufacturers were mapped statewide as of August 2026.
Princeton is the opposite case — the Princeton Police Department confirmed in August 2026 that it uses ALPR technology but does NOT use Flock, while a resident petition asks the council to ban Flock outright.
There is no state requirement that a town hold a public hearing, publish camera locations, or disclose data-sharing partners before deploying — those are exactly the gaps local campaigns are trying to fill by ordinance.
What New Jersey Law Actually Requires
| Question | Rule in New Jersey |
|---|---|
| ALPR statute | NONE — New Jersey has NO ALPR-specific statute. Control comes from Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive 2022-12 (issued October 2022, effective January 23, 2023), which replaced AG Directive 2010-5 (December 3, 2010, revised November 18, 2015). AG Directives bind every state, county and municipal law enforcement agency in New Jersey and are enforceable as police discipline, but they are executive policy, not statute — a future Attorney General can rewrite them without the Legislature. Bills to put ALPR rules into statute have been introduced repeatedly since 2014 (S2974, A2384, A2407, A3297/S4174, now A2594) and NONE has ever been enacted. |
| Data retention | NONE in statute. By AG Directive 2022-12, New Jersey law enforcement agencies retain ALPR “read” data for up to 3 years (reduced from the 5 years allowed under the prior 2010 directive), after which it must be purged unless it has been preserved as evidence in an active case. Note this is a ceiling set by directive, not a statutory command — and it is far LONGER than Flock’s 30-day product default, so a New Jersey agency using Flock may be storing plate reads well beyond the vendor default if it exports into its own state-compliant system. Flock announced on August 13, 2026 that it now recommends a 7-day default retention nationally; New Jersey law does not require agencies to adopt that. |
| Who can search | No warrant is required under New Jersey law to query stored ALPR data. Under AG Directive 2022-12, access is limited to trained, authorized law enforcement users, and every query must be for a documented “legitimate law enforcement purpose” tied to an active investigation, BOLO, crime scene query, or crime trend analysis — the standard is a documented law enforcement purpose, not probable cause and not judicial approval. Users must complete required training under the NJ SNAP program before being authorized. If ALPR data is accessed as part of an investigation, a record of that access (which may be automated) must be placed in the agency’s investigative file. Civilian and non-law-enforcement access is not authorized. |
| Immigration use | Partial, and by directive only — NOT by statute. AG Law Enforcement Directive 2018-6 (the Immigrant Trust Directive) limits New Jersey state, county and local police from assisting federal civil immigration enforcement, which reaches ALPR queries run for that purpose. The statutory version failed: the Privacy Protection Act (A6309/S5037), which would have written ALPR immigration limits and out-of-state certification requirements into law, passed both houses January 12, 2026 (Senate 24-12) after concurrence with Governor Murphy’s conditional veto, and Governor Murphy POCKET-VETOED it in January 2026 (announced January 20, 2026), along with A6310/S5038 which would have codified the Immigrant Trust Directive. ACLU-NJ and CAIR-NJ both issued statements condemning the pocket vetoes in January 2026. So as of September 2026 the immigration restriction rests entirely on an executive directive that a sitting Attorney General or Governor could withdraw. Assemblywoman Annette Quijano announced plans to reintroduce the Privacy Protection Act in the new session. Note that Flock Safety’s own published blog describing “New Jersey’s Privacy Protection Act” as effective law is inaccurate — that bill never became law. |
| Data sharing | Under AG Directive 2022-12, ALPR data may be shared among all New Jersey law enforcement agencies, and requests must be documented and are subject to audit. There is NO statutory restriction on out-of-state or federal sharing. The proposed Privacy Protection Act would have barred government entities from selling, sharing or transferring ALPR information and would have required out-of-state agencies to certify they will not use the data for prohibited purposes — it was pocket-vetoed in January 2026 and is not law. National reporting has documented more than 4,000 Flock lookups run at federal request for immigration purposes across the country, and in June 2026 a San Francisco compliance audit found 299 improper queries run for federal and out-of-state agencies over roughly one year, which is the failure mode New Jersey’s directive-only framework is not built to catch across state lines. |
| Search audits | Yes, by directive. AG Directive 2022-12 mandates an annual audit of every agency’s ALPR program, with the New Jersey State Police overseeing statewide audits and setting audit policy through a State ALPR Coordinator. Agencies must complete the audit and certify completion by January 31 each year, and the Attorney General must issue an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature. The 2024 audit (covering January 1 through December 31, 2024) was released by AG Matthew Platkin and NJSP Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan in August 2025; 523 agencies certified, more than 500 agencies were covered, and two significant violations were identified — both authorized users who had not completed required NJ SNAP training. The audit reported no data misuse and no privacy breaches. A 2023 audit was released July 16, 2024. New Jersey is unusual here: most states with no ALPR statute have no audit regime at all. |
The retention number is the one to watch. Flock’s national default is 30 days; some states now force shorter windows by statute, and where New Jersey law is silent, the local contract decides. When people ask “are flock cameras legal in New Jersey,” the retention and search rules above are usually what they actually need to know.
Misuse penalties: NONE ALPR-specific. Misuse is prosecuted under general law: official misconduct, N.J.S.A. 2C:30-2 (a second-degree crime for a public servant who commits an unauthorized act relating to office), and computer criminal activity / unauthorized access, N.J.S.A. 2C:20-31, plus internal discipline and decertification exposure under AG Directive 2022-12.
Pending bill A2594 would create a dedicated offense for unauthorized use or access of ALPR data by a law enforcement employee, punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000 — that is a proposal, not current law.
Your Rights: Seeing What New Jersey Has on Your Plate
Knowing whether are flock cameras legal in New Jersey is only half the question — the other half is what you can see about your own plate. There is no ALPR-specific right of access for drivers. You may be able to use the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., filing an OPRA request with the records custodian of the specific police department that operates the camera, or with the New Jersey State Police (which houses the State ALPR Coordinator) for statewide audit and certification records.
Expect resistance: agencies routinely invoke OPRA’s criminal investigatory records exemption and the security-information exemption for ALPR read data and search logs, and the proposed Privacy Protection Act would have expressly exempted ALPR information from OPRA.
If a request is denied you may appeal to the New Jersey Government Records Council or file in Superior Court — check with counsel, and note that many drivers get audit-log-level records more readily than raw plate reads. The annual statewide ALPR audits are published without a request at nj.gov/njsp and njoag.gov. Third-party sites such as haveibeenflocked.com aggregate leaked and released Flock audit logs, but they are not official, are incomplete, and carry no legal force.
A records request is the single most useful lawful move for a driver asking are flock cameras legal in New Jersey: it is free or cheap, it forces the agency to state its rules on paper, and the answers feed every other channel — council testimony, comments on pending bills, or a lawyer if the logs show misuse. If a camera-based citation is the concern, the Flock camera ticket guide for New Jersey covers that side.
The bills and rulings below are what will change the answer to are flock cameras legal in New Jersey next — each item is dated, and this section is refreshed as they move.
New Jersey ALPR Bills and Rulings in Motion
A2594 (2026-2027 session) — imposes requirements on law enforcement use of ALPRs; introduced January 13, 2026 and referred to the Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee, still in committee as of September 2026; would require annual agency reports to the Attorney General, annual audits by county prosecutors or the AG, and would criminalize unauthorized access with up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
This is the carryover of A3297/S4174 from the prior session, which died in the Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee and the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee.
A6309/S5037, the Privacy Protection Act (limits on government collection, retention and disclosure of sensitive personal information including ALPR data) — passed both houses January 12, 2026 after concurrence with the Governor’s conditional veto recommendations, then POCKET-VETOED by Governor Murphy in January 2026 (reported January 20, 2026); dead, with Assemblywoman Quijano announcing plans to reintroduce.
A6310/S5038, codifying the Immigrant Trust Directive — also pocket-vetoed January 2026. Senator Michael Testa (R-Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland) announced in late July 2026 that he will introduce ALPR guardrail legislation placing statutory limits on how motorists’ information is collected, retained and shared while preserving ALPR as a police tool; as of the August 2026 reporting no bill text or bill number had been released, with formal introduction expected at the Senate’s September quorum call. Nationally, lawmakers in New Jersey and 34 other states introduced nearly 100 ALPR bills in 2026.
Where communities have pushed back, it shows up here: cancellations, lawsuits, and documented cases — the practical backdrop to are flock cameras legal in New Jersey, reported as cases and charges only.
The Backlash in New Jersey: Cancellations, Lawsuits & Cases
August 2026 — Brick Township: Andrew Wardell, 31, was arrested August 13, 2026 and charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief after police said a department Flock camera at 181 Drum Point Road was cut down on July 8, 2026; case charged, outcome pending. August 2026 — Milford: Eyad Rahim was charged after police alleged he and a juvenile damaged four city-owned Flock cameras; a warrant affidavit states he told investigators he acted because he believed the cameras were unconstitutional and violated privacy.
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Repair or replacement was estimated at $3,000 to $4,000 per camera, and he was scheduled to appear in court in September 2026.
August 2026 — DeFlock South Jersey formed in Camden County seeking removal of the cameras pending real oversight, covered by CBS Philadelphia and NJ 101.5. August 2026 — Princeton: resident Chris Potts filed a petition asking the Princeton Council to ban Flock cameras, disclose any existing camera locations and data-sharing arrangements, and require a public hearing before similar technology is adopted; Princeton police confirmed the town does not currently use Flock, and no council vote had been scheduled as of the August 2026 reporting.
August 2026 — a statewide Change.org petition, “Stop Flock Cameras and Mass License-Plate Surveillance Across New Jersey,” launched addressed to the Governor, Legislature and Attorney General. January 2026 — ACLU-NJ and CAIR-NJ issued statements condemning the pocket veto of the Privacy Protection Act. August 2025 — the state’s 2024 ALPR audit found two significant violations (untrained authorized users) with corrective action taken and no reported misuse.
February 27, 2026 — a nationwide class action against Flock over its license plate cameras was announced by Gibbs Mura A Law Group; not New Jersey-specific. No New Jersey municipality has been confirmed to have canceled a Flock contract as of September 2026, though 214 localities nationally have dropped Flock contracts since 2021, with 90 cancellations in August 2026 alone.
What Flock and Other Vendors Are Saying
August 13, 2026 — Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley announced a package of guardrails in response to national backlash: cutting the recommended default retention from 30 days to 7 days, adding an “Evidence Mode” to preserve data for active investigations, requiring law enforcement users to enter an active case number or case code before running a plate search, requiring every agency client to enable an audit tool that flags unusual search activity, offense filtering, and proactive lockouts that suspend a user’s account pending internal review when irregular behavior is detected (reported by CNN Business and WRAL, with rollout of some safeguards set for January).
August 13, 2026 — ACLU and other civil liberties groups publicly rejected the announcement as a PR move rather than a structural fix.
2026 — Flock published a blog post asserting that New Jersey’s Privacy Protection Act restricts ALPR data sharing across state lines and bars civil immigration use; that characterization is wrong, because the bill was pocket-vetoed and never became law. Flock has also published a standing public response titled “Does Flock Share Data With ICE?” Undated as to New Jersey specifically. Langley also spoke at TED2026 framing safety as a right. No Axon or Motorola Solutions statement directed at New Jersey specifically was verifiable.
Key Takeaways: Are Flock Cameras Legal in New Jersey
- Start with the statute question: the honest answer to “are flock cameras legal in New Jersey” begins with whether New Jersey has any ALPR law at all — and where it does not, vendor defaults and local contracts are the only rules.
- Retention is the number that matters: when drivers ask “are flock cameras legal in New Jersey”, what they usually need is how long a plate read is kept and who can search it, both covered in the table above.
- Your city may answer differently than your state: because local policy fills the gap, “are flock cameras legal in New Jersey” can have one answer in one town and another across the line.
- A records request is the lawful lever: for anyone asking “are flock cameras legal in New Jersey”, the search logs and the written policy are obtainable under the public-records law, and they are what changes council votes.
- Bills move monthly: the dated sections above are refreshed because the answer to “are flock cameras legal in New Jersey” is being rewritten in real time by legislation and court rulings.
- Cancellations are facts, not rumors: the backlash section records which New Jersey communities have ended contracts and why — the practical backdrop to “are flock cameras legal in New Jersey”.
- Damaging a camera is a crime: the lawful channels are the ones that work, and the cases above show the charges that follow the other route.
- Check the date on everything: including this page — the verification date is printed above, because “are flock cameras legal in New Jersey” is a moving answer.
- Vendor statements are not law: a company’s retention promise can change by press release; “are flock cameras legal in New Jersey” is answered by statute and contract, which is why both are quoted above.
- Sharing is the quiet issue: a plate read in New Jersey can be searchable by agencies elsewhere by default, and “are flock cameras legal in New Jersey” includes whether the local contract turned that off.
Bottom line on are flock cameras legal in New Jersey: confirm the current rule at the official sources below, keep every notice and envelope, and treat the dated sections of this page as the record of what changed and when.
New Jersey FAQ: Are Flock Cameras Legal in New Jersey
Can I find out if police searched my plate in New Jersey?
Often, yes. ALPR search logs are records, and public-records laws reach many of them — the request path in the rights section above is the route. Some state statutes require agencies to keep audit logs precisely so this question is answerable. Expect exemptions for active investigations, but the policy, the retention schedule, and aggregate search data are routinely producible.
Do Flock cameras use facial recognition?
No — the cameras photograph vehicles and plates, not faces, and the company states the system does not identify drivers or passengers. The privacy concern is different and real: a network of timestamped plate captures builds a movement history of your vehicle, which is why retention limits and search rules are where every serious legal fight is happening.
Is it illegal to block or damage a Flock camera in New Jersey?
Damaging one is criminal property destruction — and prosecutions are real: vandalism cases around the country in 2026 have drawn felony charges, including over a police decoy camera. Blocking or obscuring one on public land can also draw obstruction or tampering charges depending on state law. The lawful channels — records requests, council testimony, pending bills — are covered above, and they are the ones actually cancelling contracts.
Why the Answer to “Are Flock Cameras Legal in New Jersey?” Keeps Changing
ALPR law is the rare corner of traffic law being written in real time. The cameras spread faster than legislatures could react, so the first rules were whatever the vendor’s defaults and each city’s contract said. Now the statutes are arriving — retention caps, search standards, immigration-use bans, audit duties — and every session moves the line somewhere. A page that answered “are flock cameras legal in New Jersey” correctly last year can be wrong this year.
The fights driving it are concrete: officers caught running personal searches, federal agencies reaching into local data, cities discovering their contracts allowed sharing they never intended. Each scandal produces a bill; each bill resets the rules. That is why the dated sections on this page exist and get refreshed — the statute table is the stable part, and everything else is a moving front.
For a driver, the takeaway is to check the date on anything you read about are flock cameras legal in New Jersey — including this page, which is why its verification date is printed above — and to anchor on the statute citations, which are the one part of this fight that is always checkable at the source.
Official New Jersey Sources & Resources
- New Jersey Legislature: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/
- New Jersey DMV: https://www.njoag.gov/
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: nhtsa.gov
- Cornell Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu/wex
Statute reference: NONE — no New Jersey ALPR statute exists. Governing authority is AG Law Enforcement Directive 2022-12, https://www.nj.gov/oag/dcj/agguide/directives/ag-Directive-2022-12_Updated-Directive-Regulating-Use-of-Automated-License-Plate-Recognition-(ALPR)-Technology.pdf. Related general statutes that can apply to misuse: N.J.S.A. 2C:30-2 (official misconduct) and N.J.S.A. 2C:20-31 (unauthorized computer access). Records access runs through OPRA, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.
Other New Jersey rules to know: New Jersey is a rare hybrid — it belongs to the roughly half of states with NO ALPR statute, yet it has one of the strongest directive-based frameworks in the country, including a mandatory statewide annual audit covering 500-plus agencies with published results, a State ALPR Coordinator inside the New Jersey State Police, mandatory NJ SNAP training before a user may be authorized, and an Attorney General annual report to the Governor and Legislature.
Everything above can be changed by a single Attorney General signature without a legislative vote, which is precisely the argument driving the 2026 bills. Also unique: the state actively funds expansion while regulating it — AG Platkin announced $1.4 million for ALPR expansion in Atlantic City.
Drivers should note the 3-year state retention ceiling is six times Flock’s 30-day default and far longer than Flock’s new 7-day recommendation, so a New Jersey plate read may persist long after the vendor default would have purged it. If you are contesting a ticket or charge built on an ALPR hit, many drivers can request the underlying read data, the query log, and the agency’s ALPR audit certification in discovery — check with your court and with counsel, since availability depends on the agency and on whether the criminal investigatory records exemption is asserted.
This guide to are flock cameras legal in New Jersey was last verified against official sources in September 2026. ALPR law is the fastest-moving area of traffic law — the dated sections above are refreshed as developments land.
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Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal advice. Fines, points, and procedures are estimates for general guidance and change when state laws change. Always verify the exact amount and process with your state DMV or the court listed on your citation, and consult a licensed traffic attorney in your state for advice on your specific situation.