New York —
Law enforcement technology company Flock introduced new safety controls on Thursday, hoping to curb growing scrutiny and fears around surveillance and police misuse of its tools.
Flock’s nationwide network of automated license plate readers (ALPR) cameras —mounted along public roads — take images of passing vehicles’ plates, color and other characteristics to feed into a database. Police departments contract with the company to search the database, billed as a tool to help solve crimes.
But a string of recent police officer resignations or arrests for alleged abuses of Flock’s license plate reader camera system, including to stalk exes or romantic interests, have added to nationwide concerns among privacy advocates and community members about the technology. Some cities have cancelled their Flock contracts, and some critics have gone so far as to vandalize the cameras.
Flock CEO Garrett Langley was motivated to update Flock’s safety controls after realizing just how many people lack trust in law enforcement.
