Flock cameras spark critics and vandals. What’s going on?
License plate readers have been attacked nationwide, and a growing number of cities have abandoned their use of the controversial police technology.
As controversy grows over law enforcement’s use of Flock cameras, President Donald Trump said he would weigh in on the argument, just not right now.
During comments to reporters at the Oval Office on Aug. 18, Trump said his stance on the now-controversial Flock cameras is “under review,” saying the matter was being studied.
“Well, it’s being studied right now,” Trump said, according to the Washington Examiner and PBS News. “You know, you have pros and cons, right? It’s being studied right now. We’ll have an answer soon, as to our views on it, in the coming weeks.”
Trump’s comments come as the company behind the cameras, Flock Safety, came under fire following a slew of high-profile cases that alleged misuse of the license plate reading system, such as police officers running searches not tied to law enforcement investigations, including to stalk or harass someone.
What are Flock cameras?
Flock cameras are one brand of automated license plate reader systems, produced by Flock Safety. They capture a vehicle’s license plate number, make, model, color and other identifying features, such as bumper stickers and body damage. Authorities can search a database to find the exact location of any car picked up by a camera.
Flock says it has 120,000 cameras in 49 states. According to Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley, the technology has revolutionized the way police track suspected criminals. In July alone, Langley told USA TODAY, the cameras helped solve 1,000 missing-persons cases and 22,000 stolen vehicle cases.
Local law enforcement, municipalities and private entities such as homeowners and business owners may install Flock cameras to capture and deter crime; however, critics argue that the network of cameras is mass surveillance.
Current and former law enforcement officers across the country have also been disciplined, fired or charged for allegedly using the system of cameras to stalk people, including romantic partners. In Texas, law enforcement allegedly used the cameras to search for a woman who they said had a self-administered abortion.
What is Flock Safety doing to prevent misuse?
Langley said Flock Safety is taking a stand against police abuse of power. New measures the company began rolling out Aug. 13 will help stop police from misusing the system and flag any attempted misuse, he added.
Per Langley, the new misuse prevention tools include:
- Every vehicle search will require a reason. Law enforcement personnel must input a specific case code tied to the investigation they are working on and the type of offense. For example, along with the code, they might select kidnapping or motor vehicle theft. Langley hopes this will stop officers from making up false reasons or entering something overly vague such as “investigation.”
- Audit assistance will be mandatory for all police departments using Flock. The tool flags abnormal search behavior, such as an officer repeatedly searching the same license plate daily, or clusters of searches late at night. Users are locked out in real time until an administrator reviews the search.
- Data will be retained in the system for 7 days instead of 30 days, except for cases needing more time under “evidence mode,” which is when a search is tied to an ongoing case number.
- Departments can choose which types of cases other departments can search for. For example, Department A might allow Department B to search its cameras for kidnapping, homicide or theft cases, but exclude Department B from searching for immigration-related offenses.
The American Civil Liberties Union released a statement Aug. 13 arguing Flock Safety’s changes won’t be enough.
“ALPR companies like Flock violate our privacy across the country by taking photos of every vehicle passing their cameras, logging detailed information about them into a massive nationwide database, and making it possible to track those vehicles and apply AI to uncover their occupants’ private patterns of life,” the statement reads.
USA TODAY’s Jeanine Santucci contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.