Topic
How law enforcement agencies acquire surveillance systems, including pilots, purchasing-board notifications, and contract approvals.
Flock's chief executive sent a Senate subcommittee a letter instead of testifying. It says customer agencies own and control the search records and set retention, and that Flock does very little oversight of how clients search its network.
Reality
More than 5,000 law enforcement agencies use Flock Safety cameras. The fights that decide how many more get installed are happening in council chambers and a Florida permit office. Opponents in 36 states have already broken cameras themselves.
Reality
Local governments from Florida to Washington state are ending their contracts with Flock. The Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney who has read dozens of those municipal agreements says what happens to already-collected data is unresolved.
Reality
Two Republican states moved against automated license plate readers inside three weeks, one revoking permits it had already granted and one cutting off state money, while Flock Safety's cancellation count keeps climbing.
Reality
Retention caps and search prompts are on by default, reversible by the agency, and apparently absent from systems already installed. Secure Justice's cancellation count, meanwhile, keeps climbing.
Reality
A patrol officer found a solar-powered plate reader on his own beat, months after local news reported that his city had passed on the system.
Reality