FOND DU LAC COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Fond du Lac County law enforcement agencies announced Friday, Sept. 4, effective immediately, they will discontinue using countywide Flock technology -- an Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) tool. 

A joint news release from the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office, Fond du Lac Police Department, Waupun Police Department Ripon Police Department, and North Fond du Lac Police Department says the decision follows the discovery that search data from their Flock systems, including records tied to active investigations, was disclosed to the public by law enforcement agencies in other states in response to open records requests they received, making it accessible nationwide. 

Fond du Lac County law enforcement agencies did not authorize the release of the data, per the release.

"The loss of control over investigative data, combined with concerns over how quickly Flock's technology has expanded beyond traditional plate-reading systems, has led Fond du Lac County law enforcement agencies to conclude that continuing the program at this time is not appropriate.

Protecting our communities remains our collective mission, and we will continue to use every appropriate tool available to do that. However, maintaining the public's trust is a critical part of that mission. That is why, when a tool no longer meets the standard our community deserves, we will say so and act on it." 

According to the joint news release, since implementing Flock systems into communities, protocols were put in place, including training all users, requiring documenting justification before every search, and conducting regular audits. The protocols were designed to ensure the system was used legally and only for legitimate law enforcement purposes.

Though the technology itself has helped Fond du Lac County authorities track down dangerous criminals, and help locate missing people, they say individual privacy rights must be protected as the technology continues to evolve. 

"We are fully discontinuing use of Flock systems effective immediately. The ability to conduct searches on our system has ended as of today, and covers are being installed over the lens of every camera to prevent further image capture.

To be clear, our confidence in our officers' use of this tool hasn't changed. What changed was the realization that once our data leaves our respective agencies, we cannot guarantee how it's handled elsewhere. That is not a risk we're willing to accept without stronger safeguards in place.

Going forward, we will continue to monitor emerging legal frameworks, accountability standards, and best practices for ALPR and similar technologies. We will reconsider use of these tools again if there are clear safeguards and measures in place to oversee how shared ALPR data is used, stored, accessed, and disclosed by other jurisdictions, and uphold our agencies' values."