Flock Tightens Police Oversight With Audits, Shorter Data Retention

Flock Safety announced new safety controls after scrutiny of its license-plate reader network: it will require all agencies to enable its Audit Assistance feature by year-end to flag abnormal searches, require case-number justifications (emergencies exempt), and lock users for administrator review when misuse is detected. The company is also reducing its default data retention from 30 days to seven (adjustable by state/local policy) and introducing an “evidence mode” to preserve data longer for case-linked searches, plus options for jurisdictions to limit cross-agency data access. CEO Garrett Langley says the measures aim to prevent police misuse and rebuild community trust, though privacy advocates remain wary and some cities have canceled contracts or shifted to competitors like Axon.