Overview
- A man in a Darth Vader costume delivered a satirical two‑minute public comment at the Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee meeting, using Star Wars imagery to praise and mock expanded use of Flock surveillance cameras on Wednesday, August 19.
- San Diego already hosts hundreds of Flock devices — SDPD’s 2025 report lists roughly 500 ALPR locations and public tracking maps show more than 550 installations — and the department says it is not integrating its license‑plate data into Flock’s Nova platform.
- The city’s posture toward outside sharing changed after the California attorney general warned that sending ALPR data to federal or out‑of‑state agencies likely violated state law, and SDPD curtailed such external sharing in June.
- Flock announced privacy changes that cut its recommended default data retention from 30 days to seven days and added search controls for law enforcement after months of protests and reports of misuse.
- Activism, vandalism of cameras and at least one alleged wrongful detention tied to a Flock flag — with the detained man preparing a lawsuit — have put pressure on officials and make new rules, oversight or legal challenges likely next steps to watch.