A Chief’s Guide to Evaluating License Plate Readers: 9 Questions to Ask Before Investing in LPR

Every LPR vendor will claim strong plate accuracy, but plate accuracy alone does not solve cases, reduce workload, or protect public trust.

For chiefs and command staff, the real question is not whether a system can read plates; it’s whether that system improves investigative outcomes while standing up to operational, legal, and public scrutiny.

As agencies evaluate LPR technology, here are nine questions that cut through marketing claims and reveal which platforms are truly built for investigations.

1. Does this system identify vehicles or just read plates?

Plate text is useful, but it’s rarely sufficient on its own. Investigations require confirmation that the right vehicle has been identified, not just that a plate resembles what was entered.

Flock captures detailed vehicle characteristics, including make, color, body type, and distinguishing features, enabling investigators to confirm vehicles with greater confidence and fewer manual checks. This shifts the system from a data collector to an investigative tool.

2. How does the system prevent false positives before they reach investigators?

False positives cost time and credibility. Chiefs should ask whether state identification and attribute matching are built into the system or left to investigators to manually sort.

Flock reduces incorrect hits before they surface by using native state identification and attribute-level matching, minimizing reliance on partial or misread plate data and reducing the burden on investigative teams.

3. What happens when the plate is swapped, temporary, or missing?

This question reveals whether a system is designed for ideal conditions or real-world crime.

Flock supports investigations even when plates are paper, temporary, covered, or missing entirely. Vehicle Fingerprint® technology captures detailed vehicle characteristics, such as make, color, body type, and other distinguishing features. With vehicle identification that doesn’t rely solely on plate text, investigators can use Flock’s FreeForm™ Search to query descriptions in plain language, not rigid filters, ensuring cases continue to move forward when suspects exploit known weaknesses in systems that only read license plates. 

Plate Swap Insights further exposes these tactics by identifying when the same license plate appears on multiple vehicles over time, helping investigators quickly recognize and respond to plate-swapping activity.

4. How reliable is performance at night and in poor lighting?

Nighttime performance is not a bonus feature; it’s an operational requirement.

Flock’s dedicated NightVision is engineered for low- and no-light environments, providing consistent vehicle identification without relying on ambient light or post-processing. If a vendor cannot clearly explain how their system performs at night, that gap will eventually surface in the field. 

Compare Flock vs. Axon to see why 6,000+ communities choose Flock LPRs to identify vehicles with missing plates, to read paper, temporary and covered plates, and to read plates at night.  

5. Can the system support cross-jurisdictional investigations without sacrificing control?

Collaboration is essential, but data ownership and governance cannot be compromised.

Flock’s nationwide network spans 49 states and more than 6,000 agencies, enabling controlled collaboration across jurisdictions. Agencies retain ownership of their data and determine exactly how, when, and with whom it is shared, ensuring collaboration is driven by investigative need and community values rather than platform design.

6. Are privacy and accountability built into daily use?

Public trust depends on transparency and accountability, not policy statements alone.

Flock requires documented reasons and offense types for every search, maintains comprehensive audit trails indefinitely, and deletes data by default after 30 days or based on local law. A public transparency portal provides the local community with additional visibility into system use, reinforcing trust with both internal stakeholders and the community.

7. How flexible is search when information is incomplete?

Investigations rarely begin with perfect details. Systems that depend on rigid filters slow investigators down when information is evolving.

Flock’s FreeForm™ search allows investigators to use plain-language queries, making it easier to act quickly and refine searches as new information emerges.

8. How quickly can the system be deployed?

‍Lengthy deployments and fragmented vendor relationships create friction before value is ever realized.

Flock delivers a turnkey LPR service that includes hardware, installation, permitting, connectivity, and ongoing support through a single subscription. This approach shortens time-to-impact and reduces the operational burden on agency staff.

Through Flock’s Safe Cities subscription, agencies benefit from simpler procurement with one contract and one invoice, while automatically staying up to date with access to new Flock solutions as they’re released.

9. Does this platform actually improve investigative outcomes?

Ultimately, this is the most important question.

By delivering more accurate vehicle identification, reducing false positives, enabling cross-jurisdiction collaboration on your terms and maintaining defensible data practices, Flock helps investigators reach suspects faster and build stronger cases.

These outcomes are reflected in the growing collection of solved cases from agencies across the country showcased on the Solved map.

10. The right questions reveal the right platform

Evaluating LPR technology is about choosing a system that reflects how investigations actually work.

Some vendors sell license plate readers. Flock provides vehicle identification for investigations when cases are complex, data is imperfect, and accountability is non-negotiable.

Flock approaches agencies as long-term partners, not one-time vendors. Built for under-resourced, over-tasked departments, Flock listens closely to how customers operate in the real world and continuously delivers improvements that create instant value, reduce operational burden, and expand investigative impact over time. 

That partnership mindset, spanning deployment, innovation, and ongoing support, ensures agencies spend less time managing technology and more time solving crime.