FBFlock Blocking

News & developments

What changed?

This is the running record for significant Flock and automated-license-plate-reader developments: documented misuse, policy changes, contracts, audits, court action, and oversight. We link the reporting and primary records we relied on, and we mark unresolved gaps instead of guessing.

How this page works: a news report can tell us that something happened; a contract, audit, policy, court filing, or meeting record can tell us what the paper trail supports. When those sources do not line up cleanly, we say so.
Franklin County, North Carolina
Misuse investigationProgram suspended

Franklin County suspends Flock system after detective is fired

Franklin County Sheriff Kevin White said an internal audit found that Detective Janet Leonard had routinely used the county's Flock system to track a private citizen without a legitimate law-enforcement purpose. The sheriff's office terminated her employment, referred the findings to the district attorney, and indefinitely suspended its Flock system while it reviews past use.

What the public record establishes

Franklin County's June 17, 2024 Board of Commissioners minutes show the board approved a consent agenda that included a multi-year Flock Group contract. The county's agenda material describes that contract as a five-year agreement for seven Flock Safety camera systems and software, totaling $88,800.

The timeline question

Recent reporting also says Sheriff White described the office as having used Flock cameras for nearly a decade. The 2024 contract is clear evidence for that specific seven-camera agreement, but it does not by itself establish when the sheriff's office first gained access to Flock data, another Flock arrangement, or earlier ALPR systems. Flock Blocking is therefore marking the earlier-use timeline as unresolved pending more records.

Why we're flagging it: the difference between “this contract began in 2024” and “the agency first used this technology in 2024” matters. They are not the same claim.

Sources

Last reviewed September 28, 2026. This entry distinguishes confirmed records from unresolved timeline questions and will be updated if additional primary documents answer them.