North Carolina’s automated license plate reader (ALPR) program, heavily reliant on Flock Safety, is set to become permanent in July 2026. While state law mandates a 90-day data retention limit and restricts use to law enforcement purposes, significant variations exist in audit standards, data-sharing rules, and false-alert rates across jurisdictions. Over 3,600 ALPRs are deployed statewide, with 80-85% from Flock, which generates billions of vehicle scans monthly. These cameras capture more than just license plates, including vehicle characteristics and travel patterns, enabling reconstruction of routes and potentially revealing sensitive locations like homes or medical facilities. Data sharing extends to private entities, with homeowners’ associations and businesses owning cameras whose data law enforcement can access. Despite contributions to criminal investigations, ALPRs face scrutiny over documented errors, wrongful stops, and the potential for misuse, with one analysis finding 71% of alerts for stolen or felony vehicles were incorrect. Legal challenges are ongoing, including a Fourth Circuit case examining whether persistent ALPR location histories constitute a Fourth Amendment search.