About 190 automatic license plate reader cameras are in use across Reno and Sparks, according to Deflock.org, a site that maps the cameras nationwide. Reno Gazette Journal reported that both cities plan to keep using them, while critics are pushing the councils to cancel their contracts. For background, see how plate readers work.
Which brands do Reno and Sparks use?
Sparks did not renew its Flock contract. Instead, it switched to cameras from Axon, the company that makes its officers' body cameras. Sparks Police Chief Chris Crawforth said Axon gives the department control over who it shares data with.
Reno still uses Flock. Reno police say they have deployed 29 Flock cameras. That count leaves out seven live-view cameras that pan, tilt and zoom, and police vehicles with Axon dashboard cameras that can read plates.
Under Sparks' new contract, the police department manages about 87 readers, Crawforth said. He said the cameras cost about $209,000 a year.
Are the cameras legal?
An attorney for the city of Sparks told a June 22 council meeting that all courts have upheld the readers' constitutionality. She said there is no expectation of privacy on public roads.
Mackenzie Nelson, co-chair of the Northern Nevada DSA's legislative committee, disagrees. She says the cameras can build a picture of everywhere a car has gone over 30 days, which is close to tracking a person's movements. The Reno Gazette Journal reports that Nevada has no laws prohibiting the cameras.
Do the cameras work?
Police gave examples of cases the cameras helped solve. Reno police tracked a suspect vehicle in a fatal shooting on March 18 from Reno to Carson City and into Incline Village, where the suspect was arrested. In a case from Aug. 26, 2025, a cyclist's death on Wells Avenue was caught on traffic cameras, and crime analysts used the Flock system to check the vehicle's escape routes.
Nelson says there is no data showing the cameras reduce crime. A December 2025 peer-reviewed article in the Cambridge Journal of Evidence-Based Policing found the "jury is still out" on their effectiveness. Crawforth called the claim that they have not shown results "absolutely untrue." He said he relies on spot checks and on searches being tied to an investigation. He has looked into third-party audits, but he says they flag many false alarms that take staff time.
Who is checking how the data is used?
According to a Washington Post investigation published in August, at least 50 law enforcement officers have been charged with or accused of using the readers for unauthorized purposes, including to stalk women. Nelson wants a third party to audit whether the system is misused. Crawforth said, "I won't say it's perfect right now."
What changes for drivers?
Flock announced changes on Aug. 13, including shorter storage of license plate data. Flock says it recently changed its default storage from 30 days to 7 days. The Reno Gazette Journal does not say whether Reno's data follows that default.
The readers are not all run by police. Some were put up by private parties, including businesses and homeowners associations, according to Deflock.org.
State lawmakers' interim judiciary committee voted unanimously on Aug. 25 to put forward a bill next year. Sen. Melanie Scheible called it "a vehicle to hash out those details." The Reno Gazette Journal reports that both cities plan to keep using the cameras for now. The Reno Gazette Journal does not give a date for the bill.
Check the camera map to see which readers are mapped near you.