Documented Incident Registry
Thirteen evidence-graded public cases spanning false stops, stale records, insider misuse, immigration access, abortion-related search, protest surveillance, and ethnic profiling.
This registry records documented examples, not a national rate. Cases are selected because public sources establish a relevant failure mechanism. They are more likely to become visible when litigation is filed, video exists, a reporter investigates, or an oversight body releases logs.
Evidence grades
| Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A | Primary or official source plus corroboration—for example a court opinion, government release, audit, settlement record, or linked public report. |
| B | Strong multi-source journalism or public-records analysis; the complete primary record is not in hand. |
Pending complaints and criminal charges remain allegations until adjudicated. A registry entry does not prove every disputed fact, and the corpus cannot estimate demographic disparity, vendor-specific risk, or frequency.
False Positive / OCR Error
An ALPR alert allegedly confused one plate character and officers stopped Denise Green at gunpoint.
Reported consequence: Detention and high-risk stop
System layer: sensor and officer response
Court opinion documents allegations and procedural historyStale Hot-List Record
Brian Hofer's recovered rental vehicle remained on a stolen-vehicle list; officers conducted a gunpoint stop.
Reported consequence: Detention and reported hand injury
System layer: database and verification
First-person account corroborated by EFF summaryWrong-State / Vehicle Mismatch
A plate associated with a stolen motorcycle was matched to Brittney Gilliam's SUV despite a different state and vehicle type.
Reported consequence: Four children and two adults detained at gunpoint; $1.9M settlement
System layer: alert and verification
Settlement and city statements publicly reportedOCR Character Confusion
A camera reportedly read a 2 as a 7 and matched Jaclynn Gonzales's vehicle to a stolen plate.
Reported consequence: Gunpoint detention with children present
System layer: sensor and verification
News investigation and later EFF synthesisReproductive-Health Surveillance
A deputy searched more than 83,000 cameras across 6,809 networks for a woman in an abortion-related investigation.
Reported consequence: Nationwide location search across states with conflicting abortion laws
System layer: nationwide query and purpose limitation
EFF cites affidavit and court records; congressional letter corroborates scopeImmigration Access Through Sharing
Audit logs showed Denver camera data included in roughly 1,400 immigration-related searches initiated elsewhere.
Reported consequence: Local data used for out-of-jurisdiction immigration investigations
System layer: network governance
Count derived from city-released audit logsImmigration Access Through Sharing
Public records found direct, back-door, and agency-on-behalf-of-federal immigration searches across Washington ALPR networks.
Reported consequence: Local surveillance data exposed to federal immigration enforcement
System layer: network governance
University public-records research with linked methodologyEthnic Profiling
Audit-log analysis found hundreds of searches using 'roma' or an ethnic slur; many reasons named no suspected crime.
Reported consequence: Discriminatory database searches targeting Romani identity
System layer: query purpose and discretion
Aggregate public-records analysis; not a prevalence estimateFirst Amendment Surveillance
EFF found more than 50 agencies running hundreds of national-network searches connected to protests and activist activity.
Reported consequence: Location searches related to constitutionally protected activity
System layer: query purpose and discretion
Aggregate public-records analysis; individual searches vary in contextInsider Misuse / Stalking
Georgia investigators alleged a police chief used ALPR systems to harass and stalk multiple people.
Reported consequence: Arrest on stalking and misuse charges
System layer: access control
Charges are allegations until adjudicatedInsider Misuse / Stalking
Georgia investigators alleged a sheriff's employee repeatedly used the Flock account to search for two people she knew personally.
Reported consequence: Arrest on eight misuse counts and stalking-related charges
System layer: access control
Charges are allegations until adjudicatedOCR Character Confusion
A lawsuit alleges a Flock camera read a 7 as a 2 and officers escalated a stolen-plate stop involving Brandon Upchurch.
Reported consequence: Police-dog injury; arrest and jail alleged in complaint
System layer: sensor and officer response
Allegations are pending; no adjudicated findingCompound Data Loss and Network Propagation
An LAPD record and a Flock read each omitted different middle digits so distinct plates collapsed to the same shortened key.
Reported consequence: Multi-day tracking and four-cruiser high-risk stop of journalist Joel Feder and his wife
System layer: source database plus OCR plus verification
First-person account includes public police report and agency responsesUse the underlying data
Each row includes the failure class, system layer, reported consequence, evidence grade, key source, corroboration, and a status note. Cite the original source—not this page alone.