All articles tagged with #flock safety
Have I Been Flocked? aggregates audit logs revealed through public records requests to show how often license-plate searches are run on Flock Safety’s cameras, illustrating the broad reach of the tech and fueling a debate about privacy and police surveillance; it’s part of a growing watchdog movement, as Flock faces ongoing scrutiny and updates to address concerns.
Texas counties are grappling with growing backlash against Flock Safety's AI license-plate readers, but canceling or renegotiating multi-agency and ownership-fragmented contracts is extremely complex; while some locales have ended agreements, others defend the technology for public safety or push for policy safeguards and warrants, highlighting a clash between privacy concerns and crime-fighting tools.
A Darth Vader impersonator used a San Diego public safety committee meeting to advocate for Flock Safety's automated license-plate readers, framing them as security tools while highlighting privacy concerns; the city has renewed its use of Flock despite backlash, as about 100 municipalities have ended contracts with Flock, and incidents ranging from a false carjacking link to camera vandalism have fueled debate. In response, Flock rolled out new accountability measures, including an audit feature to curb misuse by year-end, though experts say more oversight is still needed.
Two Lynn, MA police officers were placed on paid leave after an audit of the department’s Flock Safety license plate reader searches found a concerning pattern; an Internal Affairs investigation is underway and system access has been restricted to lieutenants and above while policy is reviewed. Officials said no immigration-enforcement searches were flagged, and the broader MA context includes other towns pausing or terminating Flock contracts amid privacy and procurement concerns.
Activists celebrated Longmont’s decision to drop Flock, but cities nationwide quickly replaced Flock’s license-plate readers with Axon’s ALPRs, intensifying a national debate over privacy, data retention, and cross-agency access. Officials argue ALPRs aid crime solving, while privacy advocates warn that swapping vendors doesn’t fix underlying governance; some municipalities are introducing safeguards and review boards, but local surveillance persists and calls for stronger data governance grow louder.
Have I Been Flocked? lets people enter a license plate to see if it appears in publicly released Flock audit logs. As of Aug. 17, it logged about 242 million searches for over 4.6 million plates, showing when the search occurred, the agency, and the stated reason, though data can be incomplete or redacted. A match means a lookup happened, not that you were investigated, and logs can be delayed or incomplete; operator names are often partial. The project relies on public records requests and aims to increase transparency about license-plate reader use amid privacy concerns highlighted by outlets like The Washington Post and 404 Media.
Residents can check the Have I Been Flocked? site to see if a Flock Safety license-plate camera has captured their vehicle. The story highlights privacy concerns around the nationwide camera network, recent vandalism and pushback in Minnesota, and ongoing changes including an audit tool for law-enforcement use.
The Have I Been Flocked site compiles FOIA-obtained audit logs to show whether a driver’s license plate has been looked up in Flock Safety’s private camera network, including the reason given for the lookup; it does not reveal whether a vehicle passed a camera or if the driver is under investigation. Flock operates over 120,000 AI-powered cameras that share data with police and governments, and while supporters see it as a policing tool, privacy advocates point to potential misuse and backlash, as shown by vandalism incidents against cameras.
Utah Civic Compact urges lawmakers to tighten regulations on automatic license plate readers after Weber County data showed the cameras were queried more than 5 million times since 2022, mostly by out-of-state agencies; the push comes amid privacy concerns, a Salt Lake City review of a new ordinance, and Flock Safety announcing auditing-related changes.
Flock Safety says its license-plate camera network will implement mandatory safeguards by January, including an auditing system to flag unusual searches, tying searches to specific criminal cases, and cutting data retention from 30 days to seven (longer only when preserved as evidence); the cameras do not stream live video, cannot record conversations, and will not be sold to third parties or used for facial recognition. Langley argues guardrails are essential to prevent misuse, while critics seek stronger oversight and some residents express unease.
Flock Safety will require customers to enable new safety features that audit officer activity, automatically suspend abnormal behavior, and restrict which agencies can share or access scans; retention will drop from 30 days to seven days unless extended for investigations, as concerns about misuse and privacy drive lawsuits and a wave of cities to rethink or drop contracts.
Amid a wave of alleged police misuse of Flock Safety’s license-plate reader network, the company announced new safeguards: every search must have a stated reason and case code with the offense type; audit-assistance becomes mandatory; officers are locked out in real time pending review; data retention drops to seven days (except for ongoing cases); and cross-department access can be restricted. The update aims to curb abuse while preserving public-safety benefits like solving missing-persons and theft cases, though privacy advocates remain wary.
Flock Safety announced privacy and accountability updates after backlash: default license-plate data retention drops from 30 days to seven, a tool to flag potentially improper searches is added for police, and by year-end case codes for searches will be required (emergency exceptions apply). The Atlanta-based company, whose cameras span thousands of communities, says the changes reflect a broader push for safer public safety and corporate responsibility. Critics point to misreads and officer misconduct linked to the system, with reports of arrests and paused contracts in several towns.
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.
Flock says it acted too slowly to curb police abuse of its cameras, license-plate readers, and drones, and is tightening safeguards by cutting data retention from 30 days to seven and adding automatic flags for abnormal searches and standardized audit logs, in response to public backlash and cities rethinking partnerships.