Beyond the plate
The plate is the part the system is named for. The Edgewater documents also describe a vehicle record: a photograph and the fields the software tags onto it, including make, color, vehicle type, and, according to the order form, stickers and roof racks. This page lists what the documents say, and what they do not say.
What a single read can hold
The diagram is a generic rear view, drawn for this page. It is not a frame from any camera, and it does not show an Edgewater record. The lists around it are the fields the City’s own documents name. The documents do not show how a single record is laid out, or whether every field is kept for every read.
On the plate
- The characters. The Policy describes ALPR data as data “associated with vehicle license plates.” [POL 422.1]
- License-plate state. A searchable attribute in the Vehicle Fingerprint list. [OF p.17]
- Missing or covered plates. A searchable attribute in the same list. [OF p.17]
Diagram, not a photograph
In the same record
- Vehicle type, make, and color. Named as searchable attributes. [OF p.17]
- Bumper stickers, decals, and roof racks. Named as examples of the other features Vehicle Fingerprint search covers. [OF p.17]
- Images and video. “Footage” is defined to include images and video. [T&C §1.11]
- Time and place. The package includes time and location-based search. [OF p.17]
- Audio. Named in the footage definition, and nowhere else. See the audio note below.
The portal says what is detected: “license plates, vehicles.” [PORTAL] The Policy says the reader “provides automated detection of all license plates captured by the camera(s).” [POL 422.1] That is a statement about every plate in view, not only plates on a list.
The order form lists the fields as a search package
The order form describes the camera as “an infrastructure-free license plate reader camera that utilizes Vehicle Fingerprint technology to capture vehicular attributes.” It orders six Falcon LPR cameras. [OF p.13, p.17] Vehicle Fingerprint appears in the FlockOS package as a search capability: it lets a user “search footage by vehicle type, make, color, license-plate state, missing or covered plates, and other features like bumper stickers, decals, and roof racks.” [OF p.17]
The order form lists these as things the software can search. It does not say which of them the City has switched on, or how often they have been used. The documents in this set do not include the camera settings or any search logs.
What each Edgewater document names
Each cell is the document’s own wording, or a plain “not named” where the document does not mention the item. A “not named” cell is not proof the system lacks the feature, and a “named” cell is not proof the City uses it.
- Named The document mentions this item. The cell gives its words and source.
- Not named The document does not mention this item. That is not proof the system lacks it.
On a narrow screen the table scrolls sideways. The item name stays on the left.
| Item | Order form (Flock)Exhibit A, FlockOS package | Transparency portalProvided by Flock Safety | Vendor termsFlock Terms and Conditions | Police Policy 422ALPR policy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What one read can containThe items a passing vehicle can leave behind. | ||||
| License plate characters | Named“License plate lookup (location history for a specific plate).” [OF p.17] | Named“License plates.” [PORTAL] | Not namedThe definition of Footage is images, video, audio, and other data. [T&C §1.11] | NamedData “associated with vehicle license plates.” [POL 422.1] |
| Vehicles | NamedThe camera captures “vehicular attributes.” [OF p.17] | Named“Vehicles.” [PORTAL] | Not named | Not named |
| Vehicle type, make, and color | NamedSearchable. [OF p.17] | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| License-plate state | NamedSearchable. [OF p.17] | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Missing or covered plates | NamedSearchable. [OF p.17] | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Bumper stickers, decals, roof racks, and other features | Named“Other features like bumper stickers, decals, and roof racks.” [OF p.17] | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| Images and video | NamedSearches are of “footage.” [OF p.17] | Not named | NamedFootage includes images and video. [T&C §1.11] | Not named |
| Audio | Not named | Not named | NamedFootage includes audio. [T&C §1.11] | Not named |
| Other data captured by the hardware | Not named | Not named | Named“Other data captured by Flock Hardware or Customer Hardware.” [T&C §1.11] | Not named |
| Time and location | NamedTime and location-based search. [OF p.17] | Not named | Not named | Not named |
| What happens to the recordRetention, access, and sharing, as each document states them. | ||||
| Retention period | Named30 days. [OF p.13] | Named30 days. [PORTAL] | Not named | NamedServer data “should be securely stored for 1 year after the creation of the data.” [POL 422.4] |
| Access log | Not named | Named“All system access requires a valid reason and is stored indefinitely.” [PORTAL] | Not named | NamedA log of who accessed what, by name, date, and time. [POL 422.5(b)] |
| Vendor access to footage | Not named | Not named | NamedDuring the Retention Period, Flock may access, use, preserve, or disclose Footage in the cases the terms list. [T&C §5.3] | Not named |
| Release to other agencies | NamedLookup on cameras opted in to the State and Nationwide networks. [OF p.17] | Not named | Not named | NamedRelease to “other authorized and verified law enforcement officials and agencies at any time.” [POL 422.5(d)] |
The matrix reports the four documents. It does not show which features the City has enabled, which cameras record which fields, or how any record is stored. The documents do not say.
Two retention periods, and a log that is kept
The order form and the portal both say the retention period is 30 days. [OF p.13] [PORTAL] Policy 422 describes a different period for data stored on the department’s server. Data in patrol vehicles must be moved to the server “not to exceed 30 days between transfers.” Data on the server “should be securely stored for 1 year after the creation of the data” for investigations, and then “may be purged” unless it becomes evidence or is subject to a records request. [POL 422.4]
The documents do not say whether the 30 days and the one year describe different systems, such as the vendor’s cloud and the department’s server. They do not say which is which. That question is listed as open on the Records page.
The portal says every system access “requires a valid reason and is stored indefinitely.” [PORTAL] Policy 422 requires a log of each access by login, with the name, date, and time, and limits access to legitimate law-enforcement purposes tied to a specific investigation or a department civil or administrative action. [POL 422.5(b), (c)] The policy says system audits “should be conducted on a regular basis” but gives no schedule, and it does not say who receives them. [POL 422.5(e)] No audit report is in the document set.
The footage definition includes audio. Nothing else describes it.
The vendor terms define Footage as “images, video, audio, and other data captured by Flock Hardware or Customer Hardware.” [T&C §1.11] The order form, the portal, and Policy 422 do not describe an audio feature.
The documents do not show what, if anything, the audio capability is used for. This page does not say that it is used, and it does not say that it is not.
The portal says the system does not detect faces, people, gender, or race
The transparency portal lists what is not detected: “facial recognition, people, gender, race.” [PORTAL] That is the only statement in the documents on this point. The portal’s wording describes detection, and the page does not test it.
The Edgewater documents do not describe a people-search product or any video product. The item named in the footage definition is the camera footage itself.
What these documents do not cover
The document set covers the Flock system for the City of Edgewater. It does not include camera locations, a map of the six cameras, installation records, vendor product documentation, audit reports, or sample records. It covers Flock only; it does not describe other plate-reader products, and this page does not compare them. The document set also has no news coverage, council minutes, or records-request responses, so this page does not fill those gaps.
The Records page lists the gaps. Corrections are welcome; see the corrections policy.
Sources for this page
Page numbers are the PDF bundle pages in the fact sheet, except where the tag says otherwise.
- Flock Safety Terms and Conditions, printed from flocksafety.com on 4/28/2025; the page says “Last Updated: October 4, 2024.”
- Exhibit A, Order Form, with the City of Edgewater, Colorado.
- “Edgewater CO PD, Transparency Portal,” provided by Flock Safety, last updated August 12, 2025.
- Edgewater Police Department Policy Manual, Policy 422, “Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR),” published with permission by the Edgewater Police Department (Lexipol copyright 2025/07/15).