· Akron, OH · Investigation
Akron, Ohio's Flock cameras were searched thousands of times for immigration enforcement by outside agencies, records show
Search logs that Signal Akron obtained through a public records request show police agencies outside Akron searched the city's Flock license plate camera network 33.4 million times in the 18 months from December 2024 to June 2026, Signal Akron reported on Oct. 19, 2026. At least 8,829 of those searches, by at least 369 agencies, were labeled as being for federal immigration enforcement, according to Signal Akron's keyword analysis, which it says likely missed less obvious cases. Most came from agencies taking part in an ICE program that delegates immigration authority to local police, largely in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Indiana; the Florida Highway Patrol ran the most (1,171). Akron has nearly 150 Flock cameras. The mayor's office told Signal Akron it turned off immigration and abortion search categories in May after learning a setting existed to block them, and searches labeled as immigration stopped after that, but millions of searches give vague or no reasons, including about 3.2 million that cite only some form of "investigation." The logs also show Akron's data was included in a May 2025 Johnson County, Texas, sheriff's search for a woman described as having had an abortion. Signal Akron also found three searches by two Akron officers that listed civil immigration reasons; the city said the officers picked the reason by mistake from a preset list that has since been removed. Mayor Shammas Malik said the city is conducting a broader audit of how Flock is used, who has access and whether safeguards are sufficient.
Source
We summarize what the cited reporting says and link it so you can check us. Read our editorial standards; spot an error? See the corrections log.
What you can do
Find out what your own town's cameras collect and who can search them.
Request my town's records →Local file: akron, OH
For Flock's Sake is independent and ad-free. If it helped, chip in to keep it running ($5 tip or from $3/month, secure checkout by Stripe).
More news
- Excelsior Springs, Missouri council votes Oct. 19 on ending its Flock contract and covering the cameras (October 19, 2026)
- NBC News review: Flock cameras often spread through deals that skipped bidding or came in just under approval limits (October 19, 2026)
- Boonsboro, Maryland turns off its Flock cameras and puts a replacement Axon plate-reader rollout on hold (October 19, 2026)