Flock Unveils Police Audit Tools Amid Surveillance Backlash
Flock Safety Adds New Rules to Stop Police Misuse of License Plate Cameras
New York — A company that makes cameras reading license plates is changing its rules. The goal? To stop police officers from abusing the system.
What Is Flock Safety?
Imagine a camera on a street pole that takes a picture of every single car driving by. It reads the license plate, notes the car’s color and type, and saves it all in a giant digital library.
That is what Flock Safety does. They have thousands of these cameras across the country.
Police departments pay Flock to search this library. It helps them find stolen cars, catch suspects, and solve crimes. Sounds helpful, right?
The Big Problem: Police Were Abusing the System
Recently, things went wrong. Several police officers got caught misusing the cameras.
Real Example: A former Milwaukee officer secretly searched for his romantic partner’s location 124 times. He wasn’t solving a crime—he was stalking.
This wasn’t a one-time thing. There has been a “string of recent police officer resignations or arrests” for similar abuses.
The Fallout
- Privacy advocates (like the ACLU) sounded the alarm.
- Community members lost trust.
- Some cities cancelled their Flock contracts.
- Protesters even vandalized cameras.
- Competitor Axon started winning those lost contracts.
The Wake-Up Call
Flock’s CEO, Garrett Langley, spent two years listening to people. He heard the same thing over and over:
“I don’t trust the police. They’ve abused their power too many times.”
Langley realized: “We have a responsibility—maybe even an obligation—to the communities we serve to set the standard.”
The New Safety Controls (Mandatory by Year-End)
Flock is rolling out four major changes. Every police department using Flock must turn these on.
1. “Audit Assistance” – The Automatic Watchdog
- What it does: Monitors how officers search the database.
- Red flags: Searching the same person too many times? Searching at 2 AM with no case? The system notices.
- The consequence: The officer gets locked out immediately until a supervisor reviews it.
- Goal: Stop misuse before it becomes a pattern, not just document it after.
Stat: Only ~⅓ of agencies had this turned on before. Now it’s mandatory for all.
2. “Show Your Work” – Case Numbers Required
- Old way: Officers could search whenever, no questions asked.
- New way: Every search needs a case number (like a report ID).
- Exception: Genuine emergencies (e.g., Amber Alert, active shooter).
- But emergency searches get automatically flagged for review afterward.
- Result: No more “just curious” or “checking on my ex” searches.
3. Data Disappears Faster – 30 Days → 7 Days
- Old policy: Flock kept everyone’s plate data for 30 days.
- New default: 7 days. (The ACLU hated the 30-day window.)
- Flexibility: Cities/states can extend it if their laws require it.
- New “Evidence Mode”: If a search is tied to a real case, that specific data can be saved longer.
4. Local Control – Cities Decide Who Searches Their Data
- New power: A city can say: “Outside agencies can search our cameras for car thefts… but NOT for immigration enforcement.”
- Why it matters: Stops “mission creep” where data collected for safety gets used for unrelated political purposes.
CEO’s Wish List: Laws, Not Just Software
Langley says tech guardrails aren’t enough. He wants state laws requiring:
- Mandatory audits of all police tech.
- Behavior-detection tools on every system.
- Harsher penalties for officers who abuse power.
“Our customer is the community,” Langley says. “Police pay the bills, but the community receives the benefit.”
Summary: What Changed at a Glance
| Feature | Before | Now (Mandatory) |
|---|---|---|
| Abuse Detection | Optional “Audit Assistance” | Required – Auto-locks suspicious users |
| Search Justification | None needed | Case number required (emergencies flagged) |
| Data Retention | 30 days | 7 days default (adjustable locally) |
| Long-Term Storage | All data kept 30 days | “Evidence Mode” – only case-linked data kept |
| Outside Access | Broad sharing | Local rules – city picks allowed search types |
FAQ
What exactly is an ALPR camera?
ALPR = Automated License Plate Reader. It’s a camera that photographs every passing car, reads the plate using software, and logs the time, location, and vehicle details into a searchable database.
Can I see if my car is in Flock’s database?
Generally, no. The database is for law enforcement. Some states have laws letting you request your own data, but it varies. Flock doesn’t offer a public “lookup my plate” tool.
Will these changes stop all abuse?
No system is perfect. But these rules make abuse much harder, riskier, and easier to catch. Think of it like a bank adding cameras, dye packs, and mandatory manager approval for large withdrawals.
Why did cities switch to Axon?
Axon (known for body cameras and Tasers) also sells license plate readers. When trust in Flock dropped, cities looked for alternatives. Flock’s new rules are partly to win back that trust—and those contracts.
Does “Evidence Mode” mean data is kept forever?
No. It means data linked to a specific, active case number can be kept longer than 7 days—but only as long as that case requires it, per local retention laws.
The Bottom Line
Technology is only as good as the rules around it. Flock built powerful tools. Now they’re building guardrails—automatic locks, mandatory receipts, shorter memory, and local control.
Will it work? Communities will be watching. So will the officers. And so will the competition.