Data sources
Physical camera records are derived from OpenStreetMap, a contributor-maintained geographic database. The import selects objects explicitly tagged for automated license plate recognition rather than searching names or assuming that every surveillance camera is an ALPR. State and supported place boundaries come from official U.S. Census geography. Source artifacts are validated before publication and retained with hashes and run evidence so a result can be traced to its inputs.
OpenStreetMap data is available under the Open Database License, ODbL 1.0. This site provides an interactive, bounded product view rather than a bulk copy of the database. Any future downloadable dataset or bulk public API would require a separate attribution and share-alike review.
Update cadence and dataset freshness
The intended production cadence is daily, but freshness is based on the most recent successful validated publish, not the time a page was opened. A dataset up to 36 hours old is Updated; more than 36 and up to 72 hours is Delayed; more than 72 hours and up to seven days is Stale; beyond seven days it is Update unavailable. Failed or rejected syncs never advance the public timestamp.
During an outage, the last successful dataset remains available with a warning rather than disappearing. After 14 days, new location-page index approvals must freeze. After 30 days, the owner must review whether the data remains useful and whether affected pages need a manual index decision. A later validated publish and rebuilt statistics clear the expansion freeze.
Manufacturer classification
| Public label | Meaning | What we do not infer |
|---|---|---|
| Flock | Approved manufacturer evidence identifies Flock Safety | Not inferred from appearance, operator, camera name, or proximity |
| Other ALPR | Approved evidence identifies another ALPR manufacturer | Not combined into the Flock count |
| Manufacturer Unknown | The object is documented as ALPR but manufacturer evidence is absent or unsupported | Unknown does not mean Flock and does not mean non-Flock |
Direction lines appear only when the source direction value can be normalized conservatively. They are approximate orientation cues, not fields of view, coverage zones, or claims about which plates are captured.
How city and state counts are calculated
Each active point is tested against official boundaries with PostGIS ST_Covers. Unlike a strict within test, covers includes a point that lies exactly on the boundary. For supported Census places, incorporated places take precedence over Census-designated places when geometries overlap. A same-level ambiguity is not guessed; it stays unresolved until the underlying geography or policy can be reviewed.
Headline city counts contain only points assigned to that official city boundary. Nearby-search and browse maps may show records just outside it, but those peripheral points do not inflate the city total. total_alpr always means every documented ALPR classification combined, not Flock alone.
Location-page review and Census Place policy
A nonzero count does not automatically create an indexable page. Each state needs explicit status, manual approval, demand evidence, search-intent notes, data-richness notes, and decision notes. A city needs the same evidence plus a nonempty keyword cluster and a Local Page Gap review describing the pages already ranking for that city's query. Census-designated places require the same quality standard and must be clearly labeled rather than presented as incorporated cities.
Unapproved states return no public page. Candidate city previews can be opened directly for product review but remain noindex and are not linked from the main SEO network. The locations directory displays unapproved names only as plain labels.
Completeness and known limitations
OpenStreetMap coverage varies by place and over time. Cameras may be missing, recently installed, removed, duplicated, misplaced, or incompletely tagged. A mapped point does not establish that equipment is currently active, and an absent point does not establish that no ALPR camera exists. Source update dates describe individual map records; dataset freshness describes the latest successful import. Neither is a guarantee of current field conditions.
Street View links are environmental references only. Imagery can be old and does not verify a manufacturer. The public map is not affiliated with Flock Safety, does not access customer systems, and does not expose vehicle observations, plate searches, alert lists, routes, or a national bulk point feed.
Reports and corrections
Each camera detail offers a private issue report for a wrong location, manufacturer, operator, removal, duplicate, or other problem. A report enters a review queue and does not automatically edit the public map. Missing physical objects should be contributed upstream through OpenStreetMap guidance with verifiable tags rather than guessed manufacturer data.